CDRGD: Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk
by Aniu16
Summary: (Sequel to CDRGD: Boneknappers and Snoggletog) After Hiccup and his best friend Aniu ended the war, they must keep Berk safe from enemies while discovering new dragons and learning about their new friends. The adventure continues in this next instalment of the Chronicles of the Dragon Riders, Guardians and Dragons. The How to Train Your Dragon Franchise does NOT belong to me!
1. Chapter 1

**Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Remember readers, Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon.**

 **Chapter 1: How to Start a Dragon Academy**

 **"** **This is Berk. For generations it was Vikings against dragons. The battles were ferocious. Then one day, everything changed."**

Hiccup Haddock, his male Night Fury Toothless and his best guardian friend Aniu flew over Berk and up into the clouds.

 **"** **I met Aniu and then we met Toothless. And together, we've shown people here that instead of fighting dragons, we can ride them, live with them, even train them."**

Diving straight down and performing a barrel roll, Toothless and Aniu landed on a sea stack where their fellow dragon trainers, dragons and Nava perched on.

"Okay, guys. Best trick competition. Who's up first?" Hiccup asked. "Uh, me." Snotlout piped up from Hookfang's neck. 'Actually, I think it's..." Fishlegs objected on Meatlug's back. "Me." Snotlout snapped, pointing to himself.

"Here we go again." Nava muttered. "Sweet baby Thor in a thunderstorm, go!" Astrid snapped from where she was sitting on Stormfly's back. "Oh, don't worry, we'll go." Snotlout boasted grabbing onto Hookfang's horns. "And when we go, Hookfang and I are gonna light the sky on-fire! Aah!"

Hookfang, who had gotten impatient, took off before Snotlout was ready. He dived down the sea stack before levelling out and heading towards some sea stacks. "Ohhh-nooo." Snotlout wailed.

Hookfang flew close to one sea stack and tipped sideways so that Snotlout's helmet horns scraped against the rock wall causing sparks to fly. Snotlout continued screaming and Hookfang smirked back at his rider then he flapped his wings, soared high into the sky and plunged down into the ocean water.

The Monstrous Nightmare surfaced and flew back to the sea stack, performing a loop-the-loop before landing. Snotlout had not stopped screaming once. "I'm alive." Snotlout checked himself. "I'm alive!" He cheered, throwing his arms up in the air before noticing that everyone, including the dragons, were staring at him.

"Of course I am." Snotlout said quickly, trying to save his melted –down dignity. Astrid and Nava gave him looks of annoyance. "It's my turn." Fishlegs butted in. "Ready, Meatlug? Here we go." Meatlug growled and flapped her wings, rising up into the air and slowly circling the sea stack before landing. Hookfang, Barf and Belch snickered but Meatlug shot them a nasty look.

"Yes, new personal best!" Fishlegs whooped. Delighted, he leaned down to give Meatlug a hug. The female Gronckle gave him a big lick in response.

"My turn." Ruffnut immediately said. "No, my turn." Tuffnut argued. "Guys, same dragon." Aniu reminded the twins. "Oh, right." Tuffnut said before he and his sister fist-bumped and Barf and Belch took off.

"Go left." Tuffnut ordered, pulling Belch to the left. "No, right." Ruffnut snapped, pulling Barf to the right. "No, no, right." Tuffnut changed his mind. "No left." Ruffnut also changed her mind. But Barf and Belch accidently smacked their heads together when their rider riders tried to go in two opposite directions.

The Hideous Zippleback nearly crashed into a sea stack but pulled away just in time, accidently barrel-rolling. Barf and Belch smirked at each other as Ruffnut and Tuffnut desperately clung onto their horns before flicking their heads upwards, sending their riders flying high into the sky.

"Ohhh, nooo! Whoa!" Tuffnut screamed as he started falling. "This is awesome and scary! Aaaah!" His screams were cut off when Belch grabbed the back of his vest in his jaws. Ruffnut was also grabbed by Barf.

Both Zippleback heads flicked their back onto their necks and flew back to the sea stack. "We almost died." Ruffnut gasped out. "Ugh, I know. Wanna go again?" Tuffnut asked. Ruffnut was about to reply when Astrid interrupted. "Hey, it's my turn." Turning around, Astrid smirked at Hiccup.

"You might wanna take notes." She said. "Let's go. Yah!" Stormfly took off and flew towards the sea stacks. "Okay, Stormfly. Tail flip." Astrid ordered. Stormfly dragged her tail through the water. "Now, twirl." The Deadly Nadder folded her wings around her body and rolled multiple times.

"Quick, upward spiral." Stormfly stopped twirling, flew upwards and spiralled up high into the air. "All right, Stormfly!" Astrid cheered. She had become more fun-loving, teasing and happier since the war ended.

"Cool!"/ "That's nice." Tuffnut and Fishlegs praised. Snotlout waited until Stormfly had landed back on the sea stack so he could say something. "Yeah, but can you do it without the dragon?" He asked. Astrid immediately punched him in the shoulder. "Ow." Snotlout hissed, rubbing his shoulder.

"Okay, now it's my turn." Nava said. He flapped his black, gray, blonde, silver and white wings and took off into the sky. He performed a few loop-the-loops, barrel-rolls and dives before sending a blast of light blue ice magic into the sky, where it exploded into snow which rained down on him and the other gang members.

All guardians can use elemental magic but they each have an element which represents them and is the element they use most and are most powerful at. They can use the other elements but prefer using their signature element.

There are nine elements that guardians can use and each one is represented by a colour: red fire magic, light blue ice magic, dark blue water magic, white air magic, green earth magic, purple lightning magic, black shadow magic, yellow light magic and gray metal magic.

Nava's signature element was ice, Aniu's was fire, Namara's (Aniu's mother) was earth and Fengo's (Aniu's father) was fire like his daughter.

Nava sent his signature snowflake into the sky before turning into his Deadly Nadder with Monstrous Nightmare markings form and shot up tail spikes which soared through the gaps in the snowflake. Then he shot up flames which melted the snowflake into water before flying back to the sea stack and turning back into his human form as he landed.

"Great job, Nava." Aniu said. Nava smiled at his unofficial girlfriend and sat down to watch the rest of the show. "Aniu, I believe it's your turn." Hiccup said. Aniu flapped her black, brown, golden, blonde and white wings and took off into the sky.

She did basically the same things Nava did with a few differences of her own until she sent a blast of fire magic into the sky. She flew around it, leaving a trail of flames forming a Celtic knot behind her before letting the fire extinguish mid-air.

Then she turned into her Night Fury with golden-brown scales and green spines dragon form and breathed a long stream of fire, spinning around so that it surrounded her. Then Aniu made the fire explode with the radiance of the sun but it dissipated before it could burn anything.

"Aniu, that was so cool." Nava told her, wide-eyed as she landed on the sea stack and turned back into her human form. "Yeah, I've been practicing and I got inspiration for the fire thing from the Red Death, Hiccup." Aniu said.

Now that everyone else had done their tricks, they all turned their attention to Hiccup and Toothless. "Well, it looks like we've got our work cut out for us there, bud." Hiccup said, Toothless crooned in agreement and took off.

The Night Fury backflipped and dived straight down the sea stack. _'Steady, steady.'_ Hiccup thought as he watched the ocean water approach. When the time came, he reset Toothless's prosthetic tailfin and the Night Fury levelled out, skimming the water so that it rose on both sides of them like wings.

Hiccup and Toothless flew rapidly past several sea stacks and approached one that was shaped like an arch. Hiccup slowly stood up in his saddle and jumped off Toothless's back onto the arch when Toothless was very close to it. The boy ran across the arch as his dragon glided underneath it. Then Hiccup leapt off the arch and Toothless him caught on his back before soaring high up into the sky.

"Yeah!"/ "Oh, wow."/ "That's nice."/ "That's pretty good." The gang praised. The dragons also made positive comments. Then, for the grand finale, Toothless fired out several plasma blasts which exploded like fireworks in front of him and his rider.

"He, Aniu and Toothless are still the best." Astrid said. "Another win. Good job, bud." Hiccup said calmly. Toothless crooned and flew back to Berk with the gang right behind them.

* * *

 **"Yep, dragons (sighs). Most people would say life here is better since we made peace with them.**

Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless landed in the village plaza only to see dragons chasing the farm animals and stealing food. A Gronckle ran past them chasing a yak.

 **"Unfortunately, dragons are still, well, dragons."**

"Uh, dragon! Let go of my food! Drop it, pesky dragon!" A woman shouted trying to pull a piece of chicken away from a Terrible Terror. But the little dragon won the battle and a second stole the chicken bone. "Uh, dragons!" The woman exclaimed in frustration.

"Get off my roof, you pest!" A man yelled at a Deadly Nadder who perched on his roof. "Let go of that! These are my apples!" Another man shrieked at a Monstrous Nightmare tugging on a bag of apples the dragon held in its mouth.

Another woman was hanging up her laundry but another Nadder ran into the cloths line, taking her laundry with it. "Give me back my laundry, dragon!" She snapped.

"Get down, incoming!" A man yelled. "Look out! Dragon poo!" Another man shouted. Overhead, a flock of dragons flew over the village and began to drop their dung onto the poor village.

"Eww, gross, gross, gross." Hiccup and Aniu groaned, backing away to the safety of two umbrella-like shields held by two men. "Hey, Mulch. Hey, Bucket." Hiccup said. "Sorry about the ...um." Aniu apologised even though it wasn't her fault.

"Every day at 3:00. They're regular at least. A tip of the cap." Bucket, the taller of the two, said. The reason for his name was the bucket that he wore on his head to hide an injury he gained during the war when he lost part of his brain making him unintelligent, forgetful and dimwitted. He was a fisherman/ farmer and had a prosthetic hook instead of his right hand.

"Better than the days when it was kill or be killed." Mulch, the shorter one, commented. He ,along with Bucket, was a fisherman/ farmer and was always the one who helped Bucket with everything due to inability to work by himself without assistance. He had a prosthetic left foot and a hook for a right hand.

"Hey, we got some fish for that father of yours, Hiccup." Mulch remembered. "Bucket, give the boy the cod." Bucket held up a small sack with the bottom ripped off. "I ate it already. Did I enjoy it?" He asked.

"Um, no. Actually, Bucket, I'm afraid the...uh." Aniu pointed out a Terrible Terror pulling the fish away. When it noticed them looking at it, the Terror screeched at them and dragged the fish behind a house. Two more Terrors followed and they starting eating, causing bits of fish to fly up. Hiccup, and Aniu sighed.

* * *

 **"Most of us here on Berk are willing to take the good with the bad. But there are those who will never accept the dragons and will do anything to drive them away."**

Later that night, on the far side of the village, Mildew slept in his old house. He hated dragons more than any other Viking on Berk and he also disliked Aniu and her fellow guardians.

Then, his roof started shaking and a sword fell of its mount. The old man's eyes opened and an axe fell from the roof, barely missing his old sheep friend Fungus who baaed in terror and ran to hide under his bed.

Muttering angrily, Mildew slammed the door to his house open and walked outside. He looked up and saw a Gronckle asleep on his roof, its snores causing the old house to shake.

"Dragons. I should've known. " He hissed angrily, picking up a piece of cabbage. "Helps himself to my roof and my cabbage." And when he turned around, he gasped. A group of Gronckles were eating his cabbage patch. "My whole field! Gone! 'growls'. That tears it, Fungus."

Grabbing his staff, helmet and Fungus, Mildew angrily marched to the village.

* * *

The next morning, Stoick was giving his daily instructions to the villagers with Gobber, Fengo and Namara standing beside him. "Stand the yaks up in the back. Fishing boats just came in with a big catch."

"Stoick!" Mildew called out, making his presence known. "Ah, here's Mildew with the complaint of the day." Gobber said. "No wonder he's called Mildew the Complainer." Namara muttered.

"You picked a bad time, Mildew." Stoick said. "I'm in the middle of storing food. Winter's coming." Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless arrived on scene as Mildew said before Stoick could walk away."It's the dragons again. Those demons are not fit to live amongst civilised men."

"Neither are you, Mildew. Why do you think we built your house so far outside of town?" Gobber butted in. Mildew scowled. "Ah, well. Make your jokes. Meanwhile, these dragons upend our village carts. Turn people's houses into piles of rubble. They even disturb an old man's rest. Can't you see these bags under me eyes?"

"He's right. He's hideous." Gobber muttered. By now, a crowd had started to gather." These dragons are wild and unpredictable beasts."

"Right you are." A man agreed. "They even cracked this man's skull like an egg." Mildew continued, tapping his staff on Bucket's bucket. "Eggs? I like eggs." Bucket said cheerfully, oblivious to the situation." Scrambled, over-easy, poached."

"You need to put those dragons in cages." Mildew hissed in Stoick's face. "I agree!" A man shouted. Hiccup and Aniu each placed a hand on Toothless's head in concern. "I you don't, they'll eat us out of house and home and destroy the entire village." Mildew finished.

"Listen to him, Stoick! He's right!" The villagers began shouting at their chief. "They don't mean any harm." Hiccup said, stepping forward. "They're just dragons being dragons." Aniu added.

"Look Mildew." Stoick said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "If there is a problem, I'll deal with it."

"Oh, there is a problem, Stoick." Mildew snapped." And I think I speak for everyone when I say you better do something about it." As Mildew left, the villagers rounded on their chief.

"Yeah, what are you gonna do? Mildew's right!"

"That old man seems to have a talent in getting people to agree with him." Namara sighed.

* * *

That night, Stoick paced in front of the fire in the Haddock household. "We can't just let the dragons run wild like they own the place. Hey, we could put up signs." Stoick said. "Signs? For dragons?" Gobber (who was whittling a wooden duck) asked. "No, for the people." Stoick corrected him. "Signs...for Vikings? We 're not big readers, Stoick." Gobber said. "Most Vikings will most likely end up ignoring the signs, you two." Namara said from where she was sitting beside her husband and Gobber.

"The dragons are still trying to adapt to this place and lifestyle, Stoick. " Fengo said."They're not used to living with Vikings." Namara added. Stoick sighed. "Then we'll build a huge net and stretch it around the plaza and show the dragons what's right and what's wrong." Stoick suggested.

"Nets? You do know they breath fire." The blacksmith said incredulously. "Most of them do." Fengo reminded him. "I know very well they breath fire, you two." Stoick growled. "Maybe Mildew was right. We have to figure out..."

Hiccup and Aniu, who were eavesdropping along with Toothless, decided to intervene. "No, Dad, wait." Hiccup said. "What if we deal with the dragons?" Aniu suggested.

"You two?" Stoick asked. "Who else?" Hiccup asked, Toothless walked forward and nuzzled his head under Hiccup's arm."If anyone can control them, we can. Aniu and I are the best people for the job. I'm nearly an adult, now."

"You're not a man yet, Hiccup." Stoick reminded him. "Not if you give me the chance to be." Hiccup argued. Stoick glanced at Gobber, Fengo and Namara. Each of them shrugged.

"Fair enough. You'll have your chance. Starting tomorrow." Stoick said. "We won't let you down, Dad." Hiccup said. "We'll make you proud." Aniu agreed.

* * *

The next day, the dragons continued being mischievous, running and misbehaving. Hiccup and Aniu walked confidently into the village plaza. "Okay, gang." They said." There's gonna ne some changes around here."

"Get out! Shoo!" A woman yelled at a purple Deadly Nadder, holding a basket of bread above her head. "For the last time, get your nose out of my bread."

"Hold on, we'll help you." Aniu said. The Nadder turned around to look at them. "No." Hiccup said sternly, placing a hand gently on the dragon's snout, the Nadder instantly calmed down. "All right." Aniu sighed in relief.

Suddenly, chickens squawked as they were chased by a blue Gronckle. The Nadder chirped and ran off to play with them. A Monstrous Nightmare and another Deadly Nadder roared and breathed fire at each other. A flock of sheep ran away from them, one had its tail on fire.

"Oh, come on. Toothless, stop that fight. I'll put out the sheep." Hiccup commanded, running off to find a bucket of water. Aniu ran off to stop a fight between a Gronckle and a Hideous Zippleback. Toothless looked at the two fighting dragons, groaned and rushed up to them.

In the village plaza, things were only more chaotic as a Viking ran past Hiccup, chasing a Nadder pushing a stolen cart. "Get back here with my cart!" The man screamed.

"Bring that back here!"

"Enough of these dragons!"

"What are they doing?" Snotlout asked, sitting on an abandoned catapult with the other teens. "Uh, I think they're helping the dragons break stuff." Tuffnut guessed. "Cool." Ruffnut smirked.

Hiccup panted as he ran at the burning sheep with a bucket of water. But the farm animal knocked him over, causing to slide down the hill. "Wow, he could really use our help." Astrid said.

"Aniu could use our help too." Nava said, pointing at Aniu who was chasing a flock of Terrible Terrors away from a group of chickens. "We'll get to it." Tuffnut started. "In a minute." Ruffnut finished.

Hiccup finally to throw on the sheep's burning tail. "Sorry about that." He said. Just then, a flock of dragons flew over the village again. "And it's 3:00." Astrid said. Hiccup looked up only to see the dragons dropping their dung on the village again.

"Oh, no." He groaned, seeing a piece of dragon dung fall down over him. Splat!

* * *

"Oh, everything hurts." Hiccup groaned that night, sitting on his bed in his house. Aniu and Toothless sat beside him. "Even this." He picked up his prosthetic foot.

"Hiccup."/ "Aniu." Astrid and Nava's voices drifted up the stairs. "Astrid? Perfect. I don't look to beat up, do I." Hiccup asked, buckling on his prosthetic foot and smoothing out his vest. Toothless stared at his rider in amusement. "Ah, just a little bit." Aniu said.

"Oh, great. Dragon and guardian pity. Oh, hey, Astrid and Nava. What a nice surprise." Hiccup said once they walked up the stairs. "So, how was your day?" Astrid asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Uh, uneventful. Aniu and I hung around the plaza. You know." Hiccup answered. "Yeah, I do know. We saw you two out there." Astrid replied. "It's hard to believe that you two are still standing." Nava said.

Hiccup groaned and collapsed onto his bed. "I'm gonna be seeing flaming sheep in my dreams for the next month." He sighed. "And I'm gonna be seeing fighting dragons in my dreams for the next month." Aniu sighed.

"Hiccup!" / "Aniu!" Stoick, Fengo and Namara's voices called out. "What's going on out there, you two." Fengo asked. "The plaza looks like a war zone." Stoick said.

"We know it looks bad." Aniu said. "Really bad." Nava whispered in her ear. "But this is only phase one of our master plan." Hiccup said. "Oh, so you two do have a plan." Stoick said. "We do. Of course, we do." Hiccup assured him. "It's very complex, lots of drawings, several moving parts. Yeah, it's pretty wild."

"Uh-huh, well this better be real because Mildew stirred up the whole island. And if you don't get those dragons under control they'll be calling for their heads." Stoick warned them before leaving. "You four better do something soon." Namara said, stroking her daughter's hair. "Just remember, Aniu. Your mother and I love you so much" Fengo said.

"I love you, too. Mum and Dad." Aniu said. Fengo and Namara smiled and left. _"I don't want them calling for my head."_ Toothless said. Aniu gave him a hug and translated his words to Hiccup. "Don't worry, bud. Your heads not going anywhere." Hiccup said, also joining the hug.

"You do realise there are like a thousand dragons out there and only two of you." Astrid said. "We really hope you two do have a plan." Nava finished.

* * *

"That's your plan? Train dragons?" Ruffnut asked the next day in the former dragon-killing arena. "Here? Where we used to kill them?" Tuffnut questioned, gesturing around the arena.

"Right. Because we don't do that anymore. That's why it's available." Hiccup said, carrying a basket over to Toothless and placing it in front of him. "Actually, the dragons do seem a little nervous." Astrid remarked, stroking Stormfly's beak-like snout.

"That's because they're very sensitive." Fishlegs said, hugging Meatlug who was looking around with wide, scared eyes. "Meatlug especially. She lost a cousin here. (whispers) We try not to talk about it."

"It's amazing your dad just gave us the arena." Astrid remarked. "Well, it would be if he did, yeah. But he didn't, so that's another thing we should try not to talk about." Hiccup said.

"Wait, so we're going behind your father's back." Astrid narrowed her eyes. "There you go. Talking about it." Hiccup said. "Everyone, here's the thing. The dragons are out of control."

"We want them in our world without destroying it but they can't without our help." Aniu clarified. "They've been blowing things up in the village. We've gotta do something about it." Hiccup finished.

"Got it, help dragons blow things up. We can totally do that." Tuffnut misunderstood. "No, I believe I said..." Hiccup began. "Here's how we're gonna do it." Ruffnut said, elbowing her brother in the arm. "First, we make them really, really angry."

"No problem, we anger everybody." Tuffnut agreed. "Guys, this is serious." Aniu interrupted. "Mildew wants all of our dragons caged." Hiccup said. "And I don't know about you, but that is not okay with me."

"You're right. She's sorry." Tuffnut said, causing Ruffnut to glare at him. "Okay, then. Next problem." Hiccup decided to move on. "The dragons are eating everything in sight." He selected a loaf of bread from the basket and showed it to the gang.

"Now, when a dragon grabs something it's not supposed to have... (he placed the bread loaf in Toothless's mouth) you can get it to drop it by giving the dragon a little scratch just below the chin." Gently, Hiccup scratched his Night Fury under the chin and Toothless let go of the bread loaf.

Snotlout snorted and grabbed the bread loaf. "Maybe that works for you and Toothless but Hookfang and me, we do things a little different." He tossed the bread loaf at his dragon. Hookfang grabbed it in his jaws.

"When I want this big boy to do something I just get right in his face and...Drop that right now, you hear me!" Snotlout said, screaming the last part. Hookfang did drop the bread but he grabbed Snotlout in his jaws and gently shook him around.

"See, he dropped it." Snotlout said in a muffled voice. "Should we help him?" Tuffnut asked, chuckling. "Yeah, in a minute." Astrid said. "Out of all of us, Snotlout and Hookfang have the worst rider-dragon relationship with each other." Aniu said.

"All right. We've got a lot of training to do." Hiccup reminded them. "But together, we can keep these dragons under control." He chose two more bread loafs from the basket.

Fishlegs, Astrid, Ruffnut and Tuffnut glanced at each other and moved forward to get their own bread loaves. "Uh, can someone do that chin-scratching thing?" Snotlout asked, with his entire upper body still in Hookfang's mouth, only his limbs stuck out. "Hello? You guys still there?"

"Nope, we're leaving now." Nava chuckled as Hookfang began shaking Snotlout around again.

* * *

Later that day, the gang walked into the village which was surprisingly quiet and empty. "Huh, no dragons." Fishlegs quipped. "That was easy." Ruffnut said. "Lunch?" Snotlout asked, gesturing towards the great hall."That's weird." Hiccup said. "If the dragons aren't here then where are they?"

"I hope no one are trying to put them in cages already." Nava said."Please tell me the dragons have finally decided to behave now." Aniu begged. Just then, something exploded and some Vikings screamed.

"Something tells me that way." Astrid said, looking at the big cloud of fire that had radiated out from the explosion.

When the teens reached the scene of the crime, they saw dragons flying around and Vikings running all over the place. "Stormfly?" Astrid gasped. "Hookfang?" Snotlout also gasped. Their dragons looked up from the fish in the baskets they were eating and glanced at their riders guiltily.

Hiccup and Aniu ran to the food storage and found the place virtually destroyed. Stoick angrily tossed a log away. "They've eaten everything. " Stoick exclaimed. "We've got nothing left for the freeze."

"I warned you, Stoick." Mildew said. The old coot could always be found at the scene of a crime. "But did you listen to me? No. You put a bunch of teenagers in charge." The gang frowned at the way Mildew said 'teenagers'. "Now look what the dragons have done. Caging is too good for those beasts."

"Dad, I swear Aniu and I can fix this." Hiccup said desperately. "We-we were just starting to..."

"Enough, Hiccup." Stoick said sharply. "How can I trust you to control all the dragons when you couldn't even control your own." He gestured at Toothless who was eating some stolen fish. He glanced at his rider and gulped the remaining fish down. "Oh, Toothless." Hiccup and Aniu sighed.

Later on, Stoick walked back into the food storage and picked up four baskets. The dragon riding teens stood outside Fengo and Namara, who had just been out flying, landed and walked up to him. "Bucket, Mulch, man the boats. We need another catch." Stoick said, tossing the baskets into the two men's arms.

"It's too late, Stoick. It took us six months to catch all of that fish." Mulch protested. "Don't tell me it's too late. We've got to try." Stoick snapped. "Of course we do." Mulch chuckle, putting his baskets down before whispering into Bucket's ear. "Uh, don't tell the chief it's too late. You're always so negative." He gently tapped his hook-hand on Bucket's bucket.

"I don't know what it is with me." Bucket said helplessly. "Dad, please. You gotta listen to me." Hiccup begged as his father walked outside with two baskets slung over his shoulders. "Aniu and I know dragons better than..."

"Not now, Hiccup." Stoick interrupted his son, placing the two baskets in a cart. "I have a village to feed. The dragons have done enough damage. By tonight, I want every one of them caged. Understand?"

"Bah! You can't just cage these dragons!" Mildew snapped. "You need to send them away now!"

"What is it with Mildew saying bah all the time?" Nava asked. "I think he spent too much time alone with his sheep." Aniu replied. Unfortunately, many villagers began shouting that they agreed with Mildew.

"You're right, Mildew." Stoick said loudly, trying to calm his people down. "We'll cage them tonight and in the morning, Hiccup and Aniu will send them off the island."

Toothless sadly nuzzled his to best friends. "I'm sorry, son. But a chief must do what's best for his people." Stoick said sadly, walking away. Hiccup sadly nodded and hugged Aniu and Toothless. "Don't worry, Hiccup." Aniu whispered. "We'll find a way to make things right." Hiccup sighed. "I hope so, Aniu. I really do."

 _"_ _I wish that Vikings, guardians and dragons can live together peacefully but there always seems to be someone who wants to destroy that peace."_ Toothless sighed. Aniu translated his words to Hiccup. "We know, Toothless." He said to his dragon.

* * *

"I can't believe we have to send them away." Snotlout complained that night in the great hall as the teens ate their dinner. "It's gonna be weird." Astrid said sadly, stirring the soup in her bowl so it formed the shape of a Deadly Nadder. "I got used to Stormfly's face being the first thing I see in the morning."

"Every night before I went to sleep, Meatlug would lick my feet." Fishlegs admitted. Ruffnut and Tuffnut gave each other disturbed looks. "Who's gonna do that now?!" Fishlegs wailed, flopping onto the table.

"I volunteer Tuffnut." Ruffnut said. "Whatever. What time should I be there?" Tuffnut muttered, trying to make a joke.

"Come on, guys. Let's get this over with." Nava said, standing up from the table. "This is the worst day of my life!" Fishlegs wailed. "We're never gonna see our dragons again." Slowly, the teens left the Hall, except for Hiccup and Aniu, who had said nothing at all.

"We can't let that happen." Hiccup said in determination. "Toothless is one of the best friends I ever had." He and Aniu knelt down and hugged Toothless, who purred.

"Oh, Toothless. I'm gonna miss you so much." Mildew mocked, walking over to them. "You know what your mistake was? Thinking dragons could be trained. A dragon's gonna what a dragon's gonna do. It's their nature."

Hiccup's eyes widened as he realised something. "And nature always wins." Mildew finished, walking out of the great hall.

Two Vikings opened the doors and the wind blew the central fire out. Toothless spun around and fired a plasma blast, instantly relighting it. "Oh, thank you, Toothless." A woman said gratefully. _"Happy to help."_ The Night Fury said.

"You know what?" Hiccup realised. "Mildew's absolutely right." Aniu and Toothless looked at him with 'what' expressions. "Come on, guys." Hiccup ran out of the great hall with Aniu and Toothless following him.

* * *

The teens sadly flew their dragons to the arena where they were to be caged up. Nava flew in and folded his wings upon landing. "Good bye, Hookfang." Snotlout sadly hugged Hookfang's snout.

"I'm sorry, Stormfly. Now go." Astrid ordered sadly. _"I'll miss you, Astrid and Nava."_ Stormfly chirped sadly and followed her dragon friends into the arena. "It feels like big, sharp teeth are tearing at this thing in my chest." Snotlout groaned. "That's what it feels like when your heart's breaking." Nava said.

"I don't have a heart. I'm not a girl." Snotlout objected, but he knew he had a heart because what else pumps blood through one's body and allows them to feel emotions?

Slowly the gate lowered and the dragons and their riders stared sadly into each other's eyes. Astrid and Nava lowered their heads in grief

Then, as the cage doors were halfway down, two voices rang out in the night. "Don't close it!"

Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu flew down to them. Hiccup leapt off his Night Fury's back and opened the gate. The dragons looked up hopefully. "We are not locking them up." Hiccup said.

"What happened? Did you change your father's mind?" Nava asked hopefully. "Or are we going behind his back again?" Astrid asked. "Uh, one of those." Hiccup answered. Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch walked out behind him and Aniu.

"Look, the dragons are gonna do what they're gonna do. It's their nature. We just need to learn how to use it." Hiccup finished. Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Nava stared at him and Aniu hopefully.

"Just keep your dragons hidden until tomorrow morning." Aniu said as the teens rode their dragons home.

* * *

The next day, Bucket and Mulch were out fishing but so far they weren't having any luck. "Ah, the nets are empty again." Mulch sighed. "Did I eat them already? Did I enjoy it? Oh, am I being too negative?" Bucket asked him.

Hiccup, Toothless, Aniu, Snotlout and Hookfang flew overhead. "Snotlout, Hookfang, scare us up some dinner." Hiccup ordered. Snotlout nodded and Hookfang flew into a dive.

"Dragon attack!" Bucket screamed but Hookfang ignored them and plunged straight into the water with Snotlout still on his neck. The Monstrous Nightmare swam around the boat like an alligator and chased some fish into the nets. When Hookfang surfaced, the nets were full to the brim with fish.

"Whoo-hoo!" Snotlout cheered. "Hey, thanks dragon." Mulch called after them. "That's right! That just happened!" Snotlout whooped as he and Hookfang flew off to do their next job assignment.

* * *

"Come on! Follow us." Aniu ordered, guiding Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Arrow (Stormfly's mate) and Nava to Mildew's cabbage field where the old man was hard at work.

"Afternoon, Mildew." Astrid chirped. Nava turned into his dragon form and he, Arrow and Stormfly used their tail spines to plough a small trench in the dirt, perfect for crops to grow.

Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu flew in and added the composting. "Three o'clock!" Hiccup called out as Mildew coughed. "Time for the fertilizer." Mildew could only ask "Fertilizer?" in a dumbstruck voice as Fishlegs and Meatlug flew in followed by Clobbertail (Meatlug's mate) and a flock of dragons.

"Okay, guys. Let her rip." Fishlegs called. Meatlug, Clobbertail and the other dragons dropped their dung onto the cabbage patch. But a stray piece of dung hit Mildew on the head. Nava looked around and saw a smirking Firesnow (Hookfang's mate).

"Smile, Mildew. We just saved you three months of work." Hiccup shouted down to the old man who glared at him.

* * *

Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch were having a blast causing explosions to scare a group of wild boars out of the forest. Toothless fired a plasma blast forcing the boars to head to the slaughter house. Gobber quickly slammed the doors shut and locked them after the boars ran inside.

"That was awesome!" Fishlegs exclaimed after Meatlug landed on the ground. "How did you know that was gonna work?" Astrid asked Hiccup as Toothless landed.

"Because they're dragons and they're gonna do what dragons do." Hiccup answered, getting off Toothless's back. "We just have to work with them and not against them. You know who we should actually be thanking..."

"There they are, Stoick." Mildew's voice interrupted them. "Those dragons don't look like they're in cages to me."

Mildew hobbled over to them followed by Stoick, Fengo and Namara. "No. This is not what I asked for." Stoick said, looking at his son. "Da-da-da, we're dead." Aniu said.

* * *

Sometime later, Stoick, Gobber,Fengo and Namara walked into the arena. The teens stood in the center while their dragons were locked up in the central cage. Vikings gathered around, waiting to see what would happen.

"Oh, no. What's Stoick gonna do to us?" Fishlegs nearly whimpered. "I'm too pretty for jail." Ruffnut complained, using the excuse that seems to be rather popular. "Hah, where did yah hear that?" Tuffnut scoffed at his twin sister.

"You all disobeyed my orders and there will be consequences."Stoick told them. "I told you we where gonna get in trouble. Oh, you never listen to me." Astrid hissed in Hiccup's ear. "Well, it runs in the family, Astrid." Aniu said. "I'm not surprised." Nava told her.

"Dad, if anyone's going to get in trouble, it should be me." Hiccup stepped forward. "No. You all had a hand in this."Stoick said. "Oh, this is gonna be great, Fungus. It's gonna get ugly." Mildew sneered to his pet sheep.

"You took over this place without asking. You released the dragons against my wishes." Stoick said, pacing in front of the teens. "Things are going to change around here. That's why..."

"We're getting a dragon training academy!" Gobber yelled before he could stop himself. Namara hit him on the shoulder. "What?" Mildew gasped in horror.

"Gobber, I wanted to tell them." Stoick snapped. "There goes the surprise." Fengo muttered. Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava looked at each other with gleeful looks.

"I'm sorry, you're right. Go ahead." Gobber said. "Well, you told most of it." Stoick told him in exasperation. "You can tell 'em the part about how proud you are of them." Gobber said. "Gobber!" Stoick shouted in annoyance before turning back to the teens.

"Hiccup, Aniu...well, what he said. You all made me proud. This dragon training academy is for all of you." Walking over to the switch, Stoick opened the gate and the dragons ran out to their riders.

"Hookfang! My buddy!" Snotlout yelled, trying to hug Hookfang only to get picked up in the Monstrous Nightmare's jaws. "Stormfly, I missed you so much." Astrid cried out, hugging her Deadly Nadder. "Who's Dady's little girl?" Fishlegs gushed, hugging Meatlug. The Gronckle wagged her tail in happiness. Ruffnut and Tuffnut affectionately rubbed Barf and Belch's heads. The Hideous Zippleback nuzzled his riders. "Hey there, bud." Hiccup laughed, hugging Toothless. The Night Fury purred and gave him a lick.

"Oh, I'll get rid of those dragons, yet." Mildew growled, walking away with Fungus."We're so proud of you." Namara said, Fengo chuckled in agreement and both guardians hugged their daughter. "Oh, Aniu." Namara remembered something. "Yes, Mum?" Aniu asked. "Your father and I are renovating our house and adding another bedroom so you can live in the same house as us now." Namara said. "Wow." Aniu said. She looked at Hiccup who smiled. "I don't mind if you live with your parents, now. At least our houses are right beside each other." Hiccup said.

"Now, all you have to do is train them." Stoick said, smiling at his son. "Your mother will be so proud of you." He whispered. "Not a problem and thanks,Dad." Hiccup smiled. "After all, I've got him." He gestured to Toothless.

"Ahem." Aniu cleared her throat. "And her too." Hiccup said. "Excuse us." Astrid said. "And them as well."

* * *

That night, Hiccup drew a picture of him, Aniu, Toothless and the rest of the gang.

 **"Dragons can't change who they are."**

He smiled at Toothless who leapt off the rafters and breathed fire on his stone slab of a bed before lying down to sleep. Aniu folded her wings and pulled the blankets of her bed over her.

 **"But who would want them to?"**

Fishlegs slept peacefully in his bed, snoring softly. Meatlug contently licked his feet with her tongue as she slept at the foot of her rider's bed.

Astrid woke up the next morning as the sun's rays light her room up. Stormfly stuck her head in. Astrid smiled and threw off her blankets. Nava also woke up, smiled and threw off his own blankets.

Soon, Astrid, Stormfly and Nava flew over the village of Berk and dropped bags of fish into a cart.

 **"Dragons are powerful, amazing creatures."**

As Toothless and Aniu (in her dragon form) dropped their bags of fish into the cart, Hiccup spotted his father and Gobber smiling up at them proudly. Hiccup smiled back at them. Fengo and Namara flapped their wings and flew up to join their daughter.

Fishlegs, Meatlug, Snotlout and Hookfang hung a sign depicting the Strike Class symbol of A Night Fury rolled into a circle with one of its tailfins painted red as a homage to Toothless over the entrance to the arena which is now called the:

"Berk Dragon Training Academy." Astrid said, smiling at Hiccup before punching him gently on the shoulder. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too." Nava said, standing beside Aniu. Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu smiled at each other before Hiccup got on Toothless's back and they flew up into the sky.

 **"And as long as it takes Aniu and I, we are going to learn everything there is to know about them. Wouldn't you?"**

 **Author's note: This chapter was 14 pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 16.07.2015 Australian Time**


	2. Viking for Hire

**Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Remember readers, Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the gang. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Chapter 2: Viking For Hire**

 **"** **Everybody needs or has a place in the world. Some people are born to theirs."**

(Flashback Scene)

Stoick stood at the head of a ship while a few Vikings walked around on it carrying stuff. "Raise the mainsail! Turn her toward starboard." He ordered. "Aye, sir!" The Vikings shouted, obeying his commands.

 **"** **Some people discover theirs."**

(Flashback Scene)

Toothless gently pressed his snout into Hiccup's hand as Aniu stood beside them. The Night Fury snorted before leaving.

(Flashback Scene)

Shouts, screams and roars echoed as dragons and Vikings fought against each other. Gobber was in the forge, hammering a sword into shape.

 **"** **And some people make a place for themselves."**

When it was done, he put the weapon in a cart full of other weapons. Then he dragged it out to the battlefield. "Grab a weapon!" Gobber shouted. "No time to be choosy!" A few men ran forward and grabbed a weapon before running back out to the battlefield.

Gobber grabbed his prosthetic battle hammer and charged at a Monstrous Nightmare who breathed fire at him. The blacksmith dodged the flames and avoided the fire blasts of a Deadly Nadder and a Gronckle. A second Nadder flew overhead, threw down some tailspines and flew away.

(Flashback ends)

 **"** **But then the world around them changes and the place they made is gone."**

Fishlegs and Meatlug flew past the forge where Gobber was hammering out a another sword. He stared happily at the weapon but then sighed when he remembered that dragons no longer needed to be killed. There was a couple of hostile tribes but they hadn't played up in a long while.

Sadly, Gobber placed the sword in his overflowing with weapons cart.

In the arena, which was now the Berk Dragon Training Academy, Hiccup, Aniu and their fellow six members of the Dragon Trainer Gang as they called themselves, were testing their knowledge of dragons by having a Quiz Battle.

The first team (Team Astrid) consisted of : Astrid, Nava and Fishlegs. The second team (Team Snotlout) consisted of: Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Hiccup and Aniu were the Quizmasters. So far, Team Astrid was way ahead of Team Snotlout with way more points. Their dragons slept behind their riders.

Hiccup was wondering if he should've swapped the members of each team around a bit because he had the more intelligent teens versing the not so intelligent teens.

"Every dragon has its own unique abilities that give it its special place in the world." Aniu told them. 'Which dragon makes the best welding torch?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, Deadly Nadder!" Astrid instantly answered the question which made sense because she rode a Deadly Nadder. " Its magnesium flame burns with the heat of the sun!" Fishlegs piped up. "It's currently the dragon with the hottest known firetype. But there could other dragons out there that have much hotter flames." Nava said.

"Correct. Point to Team Astrid." Hiccup said, marking down the points on the rock slab behind him. Astrid, Nava and Fishlegs fist-bumped. "Score is now one-hundred to ten." Aniu said.

"And you started with ten." Astrid smirked at the other team. "Oh, yeah. Well, the game's not over." Tuffnut glared at them before he looked confused. "Wait, what team am I on?" He asked stupidly. "The losing team, genius." Nava smirked.

"Next question." Hiccup interrupted. "What is the shot limit of a Hideous Zippleback? Team Snotlout?"

"I don't think they can count that high." Astrid remarked. "I don't think they can count past twelve." Nava said.

"Oh, really? Let's find , Belch!" At Ruffnut's command, Barf and Belch stood up and fired six fireballs at the wall behind Team Astrid. Fortunately, Astrid and her team ducked. "Ha, looks like it's about three." Tuffnut snickered, holding up two fingers. "Told you we could count that high." Ruffnut sneered.

"It's six." Aniu corrected. "You're half right. Five points."

"Yes, we're up to thirty." Ruffnut exclaimed and hi-fived her team mates. "All right, it's our turn." Astrid said, determined not to be outdone. "What happens when you shoot fire at the rider of a Deadly Nadder?" She whistled at her dragon and Stormfly woke up and fired some tailspikes that pinned Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut to the wall by their clothes.

"No fair. She didn't give us time to answer." Tuffnut complained. "I've got a question." Snotlout snapped, unpinning himself from the wall. "What will happen when I sic Hookfang on you?"

"Okay, guys. That's enough training." Hiccup quickly ended the lesson before things got violent. "And we did some really good work here today." Aniu said.

"Prepare to face the Monstrous Nightmare!" Snotlout bragged, sitting on Hookfang's neck and tapping the side of the dragon's face. Hookfang woke up and for some strange reason, instantly set himself on fire.

"Aaah! That's the third time this week!" Snotlout screamed, leaping off his dragon and running for the nearest water trough to extinguish his burning backside.

The young Jorgenson threw himself into the water, extinguishing the flames. "Aah. Sweet relief." Snotlout sighed in relief. "We better go check on Hookfang because he's way more bad-tempered than usual." Aniu said Nava. He nodded in agreement and both of them walked over to the Monstrous Nightmare.

"You okay there, Hookie?" Nava asked. _"_ _I'm fine."_ Hookfang growled moodily. _"_ _Now just leave me alone."_

Nava and Aniu sensed that was all they would get from Hookfang that day so left him alone. Meanwhile, Hiccup and Astrid walked over to Snotlout who was still sitting in the water trough.

"Hookfang never flames up when you're riding him. Is he okay?" Hiccup asked Snotlout. "Maybe he just realised who his rider is." Astrid smirked. "There's room in here for two." Snotlout flirted with her. Angrily, Astrid grabbed his helmet and dunked him under the water before walking away.

* * *

In the village square, Gobber was trying to sell his weapons. "Gather around. Come on, one and all." Gobber called out. A crowd of curious Vikings gathered in front of it. Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu flew down and landed beside them. Mildew was also there.

"You may think these dragon killing weapons have no more use but think again." Gobber told them.

"Hey, Gobber what if there are human invaders we need to fight off?" Fengo yelled. Many people muttered to each other, they didn't think about that. But no human enemies had attacked them in a long time so it was unlikely they would be attacked any time soon.

Gobber held up a sword and a plate with bread on it. "This long sword is now a lovely butter knife." He continued and demonstrated. But the plate and slice on bread shattered in his hook-hand. The blacksmith smiled nervously at the crowd.

A man cleared his throat, Gobber took that as a sign to continue. "Moving on." He said. "This is a dark day." Mildew gasped dramatically beside Hiccup and Aniu. "A great dragon slayer peddling his weapons as kitchen utensils. Mmm. Tsk, tsk,tsk."

"Up next, how about this, uh..." Gobber held up a mace and a horsefly landed on the table. "...handy fly swatter." And swung the mace down but it destroyed the table and the fly flew away. The Vikings stared at him. "It's also good for getting rid of unwanted tables."

"Now for the lady of the house. " Gobber walked over to his miniature catapult which he named Big Bertha after his believed-to-be-dead wife. "When the hubby's off sailing or whatever, how are you gonna protect yourself from home invaders? No problem when you have Big Bertha."

He tapped the catapult and accidently fired a boulder at a man's house, smashing a large hole in the roof. The occupant named Silent Sven stared at the hole then looked at Gobber. The reason for the silent part of his name was because he was mute.

The villagers began to leave. "Wait! There's more!" Gobber yelled desperately. "Come back! You haven't seen everything yet! I haven't cleared out my dungeon yet!" But no one came back.

Gobber sighed and looked down hopelessly. "It's okay, Bertha. We'll find a place for yah." He said sadly, stroking the catapult's wood.

"Oh, it's hard to watch. Especially for you two, Hiccup and Aniu. " Mildew said in fake sadness. "The feelings of guilt must be tearing at yah insides. I mean, you put him out of business with your little peace pact with the dragons. You two ruined his life. Bravo." With that, Mildew left.

Hiccup and Aniu were indeed feeling guilty but if they hadn't spared Toothless's life the war would still be going on and both dragons and people would have lost their lives. Both of them looked at Gobber one last time and left.

* * *

That night, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless sat in their room in the Haddock house. "You know Gobber made this for me? He taught me everything I needed to know to make your prosthetic tailfin, bud." Hiccup said.

"We've gotta find some way to help him." Aniu said. Then Stoick walked through the door and sunk into his chair with a groan. "Tough day of chiefing, Dad?"Hiccup asked, walking down the stairs and giving his father a mug of water.

"I was all over the island. I married the Svensson girl to the Odegaard boy at dawn then down to the fields where some kids were tipping over yaks then back up to the newlyweds to settle a domestic dispute. I guess that honeymoon's over." Stoick recounted. "Sometimes I wish there were two of me."

At those words, Hiccup dropped a log he'd been holding into the fire. "There-there are two of you." He stammered. Behind him, Aniu held back a giggle. "Is that another crack about my weight?" Stoick snapped, slamming his mug down on the table.

"No, I mean Gobber. He can be the other you." Hiccup corrected. "Gobber? Oh, he's way too busy making all those dragon-killing...well, he used to be until you –which is great except for Gobber." Stoick said awkwardly.

"Exactly my point." Hiccup told him. "You know, that's actually not such a bad idea." Stoick said, standing up and walking outside. "Which works out great 'cause that's kinda the only one he has." Aniu said.

* * *

"I greatly appreciate you helping me out, Gobber." Stoick told his best Viking friend as he and Gobber walked through the village. "I'm just glad I could find time in my busy schedule, Stoick." Gobber replied casually.

"I've got a full day ahead of me." Stoick tore a piece of paper in two. "Here's your half." The blacksmith took a look at his half. "Oh, this will be interesting."

"Now remember, some of these situations are delicate. They require diplomacy " Stoick reminded him. "Oh, no problem." Gobber said. "I'm great at ...that."

"Really, you can speak to people with tact and sensitivity?" Stoick asked in surprise. "Oh, I thought it meant clubbing people on the head and asking questions later. But I can give your thing a shot." Gobber said easily.

Stoick left hoping Gobber wouldn't do anything wrong.

* * *

First up, Gobber was in the Great Hall welcoming a new baby to the tribe. "Whosoever brings this child forth into the Hooligan Tribe let he be known." Gobber announced, reading from another piece of paper.

The mother proudly handed her baby to him while the father lovingly placed a hand on her shoulder. "As a representative of the chief I welcome this baby into the Hooligan Tribe and pronounce the name to be..."

"Hildegard." The father stepped forward and whispered in his ear. Gobber looked at the baby's face and shuddered. "Yech. Hildegard? Doesn't seem like a Hildegard to me." Gobber said. He fondly remembered his own daughter Camicazi. She had brown hair and blue eyes. "Let's go with Magnus."

"But she's a girl, Gobber." The mother snapped, hands on her hips. "Don't worry, she's not gonna look like one. Magnus it is."

The baby's parents stepped back in shock. "And please accept this teething toy on behalf of Stoick the Vast." Gobber held up a massive, sharp mace. "No!" The mother cried out in horror.

* * *

At Bucket and Mulch's house, Gobber talked to the two men. "Bucket says you never paid him for the sheep." Gobber said. "I never bought the sheep." Mulch protested. But a sheep bleated behind him.

"What's that? A little woman?" Gobber asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, Mulch. You're cheating me now." Bucket said miserably, not understanding the sarcasm.

"Clearly, there's only one way to settle this." Gobber picked up a hammer and a mace and gave them to Mulch and Bucket, who raised them in a fighting stance. "Diplomacy, check. All right, what's next?" Gobber said once he was out of the house. He ticked his piece of paper and walked away, ignoring the sounds of battle within the house.

* * *

Down at the docks, Gobber hammered some iron onto a wrecked ship. Silent Sven, the fishermen, watched doubtfully. "I know the conventional thinking when repairing a ship is wood, but if ask me, there's nothing like a good old slab of iron."Gobber told him.

Just to make sure, Gobber tapped the ship with his prosthetic hammer. "Ha! Nothin's getting through this."

"Gobber! What do yah think yah doing?" Stoick shouted, walking towards them followed by Fengo, Namara, a bruised Bucket and Mulch who glared at each other, the renamed Hildegard and her unhappy parents.

"Just checking another item off the list." Gobber said nonchalantly. He tapped the ship again and the boat slid down the ramps, into the water and sunk.

"And adding an item for later." Gobber said, dumbstruck. "Recover sunken ship. Same time tomorrow?"Stoick face-palmed.

* * *

That night in his home, Stoick placed two blocks of ice to his head. "Here you go, Dad." Hiccup said, handing him a mug of cold water. Stoick put an ice block down and grabbed the mug.

"Wow, a two-block headache." Aniu said in surprise. "You know, Dad. I think you're being a wee bit rough on Gobber. It was his first day. Tomorrow will be way better." Hiccup said. "Oh, it will be for me because it won't involve Gobber." Stoick agreed firmly.

"What do you mean?" Aniu asked. "I tried to fit a square peg in a round hole and sunk a ship and named a baby girl 'Magnus'." Stoick exclaimed. "I'm not saying she didn't look like a Magnus but try telling that to her parents."

"I can't believe you let him go." Hiccup sighed. "Well, we've gotta help him." Aniu turned into her Barn Owl form and perched on the table." There must be something we can do." She said.

" 'We' don't have to do anything. You and Aniu, on the other hand, are going to be very busy finding a job for Gobber." Stoick told him.

* * *

"You're bringing Gobber here?" Fishlegs asked nervously the next day in the Dragon Training Academy arena. "He's gonna be great." Aniu said. _'_ _Hopefully.'_ She thought. "Nobody understands dragons like old Gobber. He has spent a lifetime, you know, studying them." Hiccup told them. "If we can tap into that, we'll all be better dragon trainers."

"I'm back!" Gobber announced throwing the gate open and walked in, dragging a cart full of weapons behind him. "Did yah miss me?!" The dragons growled and reared back in surprise. "First of all, welcome and one tiny question. Why did you bring your, you know..." Hiccup asked.

"Killing things? I thought maybe we could train them by threatening to kill them." Gobber reached into the cart and pulled out a mace, causing Hiccup, Aniu, Nava and the other dragon riders to gasp. "That's how my daddy taught me to swim." Gobber tapped the weapon and the dragons growled and reared back, fear in their eyes.

Not noticing their reactions, Gobber slammed the mace onto the stone floor, leaving a small crater. "School's in session!" He announced merrily. Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch had enough and fled the arena, quickly flying away, only Toothless stayed behind.

"Eh, I didn't like school either." Gobber remarked casually while Hiccup and Aniu face palmed. "You wonder why, Gobber." Aniu sighed. "Yeah, having a Viking who likes violence and weapons teaching here at the academy isn't a good idea." Nava said. "Come on, let's go get our dragons." Astrid said, walking out of the arena with Nava, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut following her.

A few hours later, Astrid, Stormfly, Nava, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch returned to the academy. Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu were still in the arena, reading a book. "What's wrong with you guys." Aniu asked as Astrid and the twins dismounted and leaned over, groaning in pain.

"Ugh, we've been riding our dragons for four hours. " Astrid groaned. "It took forever to chase them down after Gobber scared them away."At these words, she spun around to glare at Stormfly, who backed away. The Deadly Nadder knew better than to be close to her rider when she was in this mood.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." Hiccup said before sighing. "I just don't know what to do with him." A grunt of pain caught his and Aniu's attention. Tuffnut was bent over while Ruffnut continuously kicked his backside. "Do you huys always have to fight?" Hiccup asked.

"It's okay. I asked her to do that." Tuffnut said , letting out another grunt when Ruffnut kicked him again. "I was just trying to get the feeling back."

"That only makes it worse, Tuffnut." Nava told him. "Really?" Tuffnuit asked him. "Yes, really." Nava replied. "You gonna return the favour or what?" Ruffnut asked her brother, bending over so Tuffnut could kick her backside.

"I've flown for hours on Toothless and I never had a problem." Hiccup said. Astrid walked over to him. "That's because you have a saddle." She said. Toothless raised a wing and glanced at his saddle. "Saddles!" Hiccup and Aniu exclaimed.

* * *

"Saddles?" Gobber asked when Hiccup and Aniu told him about their idea in the forge. "I love it! I've got so many ideas. He took a look at the designs Hiccup and Aniu had drawn and tossed them aside. "But not like these. Good ones."

"We're glad you're excited." Hiccup said, picking the papers up. "But I still think there are some things in my designs you can use. I mean, you did teach me everything I know."

"Exactly. That's why you should let Gobber do what Gobber does best." Gobber said. "I've been making saddles since you were a baby. In fact, I was your babysitter."

"We know you know what you are doing but keep this in your mind, every dragon is different." Aniu said. "So, you need to adjust..." Hiccup started. "Hiccup, I may have taught you everything you know but I haven't taught you everything I know." Gobber interrupted before going back to his work.

Hiccup and Aniu sighed and left. Later that evening, they past by the forge and could hear Gobber singing as he worked:

"I've got my axe and I've got my mace

And I love my wife with the ugly face

I'm a Viking through and through!"

"You know, he doesn't sing that song unless he's actually very happy." Hiccup commented to Aniu and Toothless. "I think we did a good thing."

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu gathered up the gang and brought them down to the academy. Gobber stood beside his creations which were covered with a large sail to add to the excitement. The teens and their dragons were looking very interested.

"All right, this an exciting day for all of us." Hiccup announced. "Gobber has been working hard to..."

"I think they might wanna hear from the artist himself." Gobber butted in. "I've made a lot of saddles in my day. Horse, donkey ("Shame all of those were snatched up in the dragon raids." Nava whispered.) and now dragon. But these saddles are special. They're like my children. That is, if you strapped your child to a flaming reptile and rode it. So, without further ado..."

He grabbed the sail and threw it aside, revealing the saddles. "Whoa, wow." Astrid, Nava, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut gasped in awe. Their dragons had different reactions. _"_ _Oh, great Draco.*"_ Stormfly groaned. _"_ _How will we be able to even fly with those things on us?"_ Belch asked _. "Please tell me our riders are not gonna put those saddles on us."_ Barf begged. _"_ _That saddle looks very heavy."_ Meatlug said, pointing at the saddle which had a few giant maces attached to it. _"_ _If Snotlout expects me to just let him put any of those saddles on my neck I'll burn him."_ Hookfang grumbled.

"It looks like the dragons aren't too happy about those so called saddles." Nava said. "Whoa, Gobber. This is not what Hiccup and I imagined." Aniu said hesitantly.

"How could it be?" The blacksmith asked. "I'm Gobber. No one knows what it's like to live in here." Gobber gently tapped his helmet with his hook. "Is-is that?" Hiccup asked, pointing at a saddle with a bellow and a lit candle attached to it. "Yep, flamethrower." Gobber said proudly, pumping the bellow at the candle, causing it to fire out a small plume of fire. "Didn't see that one coming, did ya?"

"Uh, no. Not for dragons. They come with one built inside them, actually." Hiccup said. "I know. But can you ever really have too much firepower?" Gobber asked.

Meanwhile, Ruffnut and Tuffnut decided to try out the saddles made for Barf and Belch. The twins placed two small boulders in the tiny catapults attached to the saddles and fired them. But the boulders hit Barf and Belch in the backs of their heads, knocking the Hideous Zippleback unconscious. "Ow." Ruffnut complained when Barf and Belch fell to the ground.

"Uh, catapults for the twins? Not such a good idea." Hiccup deadpanned. "Letting them use those is a recipe for disaster." Aniu added. "You can do it, girl. Think light." Fishlegs told Meatlug, who was struggling to hover under the combined weight of her rider and the maces. The female Gronckle quickly fell down due to her exhaustion.

"Oh, come on! You can't tell me my saddle is heavier than Fishlegs!" Gobber exclaimed."My mum says I'm just husky." Fishlegs said defensively. Hookfang kept growling and rubbing the side of his face against the stone floor for some strange reason as Snotlout tried to attach the flamethrower saddle to his neck. " Come on, Hookfang. What is wrong with you?" Snotlout asked when he failed to do so. Hookfang just snarled and threw the saddle off before turning away. "That's it! Someone's trading dragons with me!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"Yeah, sure. I'll trade my perfect dragon for an angry oven." Tuffnut said sarcastically. Astrid wasn't having any trouble at all with Stormfly's new saddle. "This saddle is actually pretty good." She said. "Wait till you try the horn." Gobber told her. Taking Gobber's advice, Astrid blew the horn attached to the saddle. But it tripled in size and volume, scaring Stormfly into throwing some tailspikes at Snotlout, pinning him up high on the stone wall. "Really? Again." He asked in frustration.

"So anyway, I think we're really gonna need to make a few..."Hiccup started to say. "Changes! I'm way ahead of you. I've got so many ideas." Gobber interrupted. "It's getting crowded up here." He chuckled, tapping his helmet again.

* * *

Later that day, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless stayed behind to clean up the academy. Astrid, Nava and Stormfly helped them out a bit before they had to go home. Currently, Hiccup and Aniu were sweeping the floor with brooms while Toothless curled up on clean patch of ground to nap.

"By the gods." Stoick muttered, walking into the arena. Fengo and Namara flew in and landed behind him. "This place looked better when we were killing dragons here."

"Yeah, we sort of got Gobbered." Hiccup shrugged. "Well, you know Gobber. He means well. He just doesn't always _do_ well." Stoick explained. "So, what are you going to do about him?"

"Aniu and I are gonna clean up his messes and redo his work." Hiccup answered. "I hope it only has to be done once." Aniu said. "Look. Gobber's like family." Stoick told him. "Yeah, I know he is. That's why I can't say anything to him." Hiccup said.

"No, son. That's why you have to. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to Gobber." Stoick said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "Why do I have to say something to him? You didn't. You just passed him off to Aniu and me." Hiccup whined, shrugging his father's hand off his shoulder.

"That's what a chief does. He delegates. Look, I gave you and Aniu this academy because it's the best thing for Berk. Now, you two have to do what's best for the academy. And I'm sorry, but what's best is very rarely what's easy."

"If you believe it's best than do it." Fengo said. "But make sure to talk about it with your friends and comrades first." Namara added. "Thanks for the advice." Aniu said gratefully. The two parents smiled at their daughter.

Together, Hiccup, Stoick, Aniu, Toothless, Fengo and Namara walked out of the arena. "What about him?" Stoick asked, gesturing to Snotlout who was fast asleep, still pinned against the wall by Stormfly's tailspines.

"What happened to him?" Fengo asked. "Astrid blew a horn attached to her dragon's saddle, Stormfly panicked and shot some tailspines at him." Aniu told her father.

"Leave him, he's going for a record." Hiccup said in response to Stoick's question. "Enough said." The three adults chuckled. Snotlout had gained a pretty lengthy record of dozing off even before the Dragon Training Academy came to be, anyway.

* * *

Later that evening, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless stood outside the forge where Gobber was working. "Hey, you never know, guys. Maybe Gobber finally looked at our plans and is actually making the saddles better." Hiccup said.

Just then, a small explosion happened in the forge and blew out Hiccup's torch. "Or not." Aniu deadpanned. _"_ _We better go see what happened in there."_ Toothless said. Nodding, Aniu walked toward the forge, followed by Hiccup and Toothless.

"Gobber?" Hiccup and Aniu asked once they were inside only to see Gobber spin around and point a loaded crossbow at them. "Don't shoot!" Hiccup and Aniu exclaimed desperately, throwing their hands up. "I'll never shoot you, Hiccup and Aniu...unless I absolutely had to." Gobber said.

Both teens chuckled nervously. "Yeah. Still, if you could please put the crossbow down, I know Aniu and I'd feel better." Hiccup said. "You know, about the weapons, maybe the catapults were a bit much for some of the dragons yesterday " Gobber said, walking over his bench. "So I've gone a different way. I've gotten rid of the two big ones."

"Gobber, that's great. What a relief." Aniu said. "And replaced them with six little ones." Gobber held up a teaspoon-sized catapult. Hiccup and Aniu stared at him in disbelief. "Yeah, um, Gobber, we need to talk. We think it might be time for you to take a little break." Hiccup said.

"In case you haven't noticed, the only time a Viking takes a break is to die." Gobber pointed out. "Maybe 'break' is the wrong word." Hiccup said. "What we mean is we're not sure things are working out."

"We'll, get back to me when you're sure." Gobber stopped hammering a piece of iron and listened. "Okay, we're sure." Hiccup said carefully. "Gobber, we're gonna need to take you off the saddle project."

Gobber stopped hammering the iron piece and looked down. "Are you getting rid of me, you two? Now I see why you had me put down the crossbow."

"Just was just the saddles." Hiccup said quickly. "We'll find something else for yah." Aniu said gently. "I don't need your pity." Gobber said sadly. "I've lost an arm and a leg. I think I'll survive losing a job."

"We're really sorry, Gobber." Hiccup and Aniu said apologetically, both placing a hand on Gobber's shoulder before leaving the forge and Gobber staring sadly at the floor. _"_ _So, how did it go?"_ Toothless asked once Hiccup and Aniu joined him. "Horrible." Aniu whispered.

"Well, that was awful." Hiccup sighed as they walked away. "I don't know what could be worse than that." Suddenly, people screamed and a long plume of fire shot into the sky. "Okay, it looks like we're gonna find out." Aniu said.

Snotlout ran up to them, panting. Behind him, Hookfang seemed to be going on a rampage. "I never...thought...I'd say this but Hiccup and Aniu...help!" He grabbed both teens by the shoulders and shook them, staring over his shoulder in terror.

Villagers screamed as Hookfang landed on a house and breathed fire down at the ground. He roared and seemed to be rubbing the side of his face against the wood in pain.

Then the Monstrous Nightmare jumped onto the ground and waved his head around, letting out streams of fire. "Everyone, back away." Stoick ordered. "The dragon's out of control. It's not safe here." Fengo and Namara tried to calm Hookfang down but failed.

Hiccup, Aniu, Snotlout and Toothless ran towards the scene. "I don't know what happened. I was just rubbing his head. He usually loves that but this time he went crazy. My dragon hates me." Snotlout wailed.

"Mum, Dad, what's wrong with him?" Aniu asked "We don't know, Aniu, but Hookfang seems to be in pain for some reason and when most dragons are in pain, they tend to rampage around. I see no physical injuries and he doesn't seem to be sick." Namara said. "Yeah, he was acting up in the academy a couple of days ago, I asked him what was wrong and he said he was fine." Aniu said. "We better find out what's wrong with him and fast." Fengo said.

Hiccup slowly and carefully approached Hookfang with his hands outstretched. "They do say a pet starts to take on the characteristics of its owner. I think that's what's happening here." Fishlegs said. "Hey." Snotlout snapped and elbowed him in the guts. "Oof. Yeah, I rest my case." Fishlegs grunted in pain.

"When was the last time he ate?" Hiccup asked. "Not for days." Snotlout replied. "You hungry, boy?" Hiccup asked, picking a fresh fish from a basket. Hookfang sniffed the fish and Hiccup threw it to him. But when Hookfang chewed on it, he growled in pain and spat it out onto Stoick's beard causing the Viking chief to glare at him.

"Oh, sorry Dad."Hiccup apologized. "We've got to bring this dragon under control." Stoick snapped, throwing the fish to Toothless who ate it. "Don't worry, I can do this." Hiccup reassured him. "Be careful, Hiccup." Aniu said. Hiccup nodded at her and gently touched Hookfang's face.

"There you go. It's gonna be okay." Hiccup murmured, gently tapping the side of the Monstrous Nightmare's face. But Hookfang roared in pain and flamed up. "Hiccup, run!" Astrid, Aniu and Nava screamed. "Way ahead of you!" Hiccup shouted, running over to them.

Toothless roared and tackled Hookfang to the ground. The Monstrous Nightmare knocked him off both dragons started circling each other."Toothless, stop!" Hiccup yelled when Hookfang shot fire at a house. "I've seen enough, Hiccup." Stoick said. "I'm sorry but we tried it your way." Hiccup looked dismayed at the fact and Stoick walked away.

* * *

"Gobber, we need yah." Stoick said, walking into the forge. "No, you don't." Gobber sniffled. "Nobody needs me. Nobody needs any of us. Not even you, Bertha."

"Are-are you crying?" Stoick asked awkwardly. "Of course not. I'm just chopping onions." Gobber lied. "There are no onions." Stoick said. "Not anymore. Look what I used to chop them with." Gobber sadly held up his prosthetic mace hand.

"There's a dragon in the plaza that's out of control." Stoick told him. "Then why don't you call Hiccup and Aniu?" Gobber asked. "No Gobber. We need you." Stoick said. Gobber looked up in determination.

* * *

Back in the village plaza, Hookfang and Toothless were still circling each other. "Come on, guys. Hurry up and think. What haven't we tried?" Hiccup said to his friends. Snotlout turned and his eyes widened. "Snotlout. Have you got any ideas?" Aniu asked. "Gobber." Snotlout nearly whimpered.

Everyone turned around to see Gobber standing there, armed with a variety of dragon-killing weapons. "Stand back. I came here to do what I do best." He said. "He's gonna kill my dragon." Snotlout gasped in horror. "No, he's not." Hiccup and Aniu denied.

"Uh, yeah, he is." Tuffnut said. "You don't use that stuff to butter toast." Ruffnut said. "Well, I mean we would, but you don't." Tuffnut corrected himself.

"Dad, you can't be serious. Hookfang is Snotlout's dragon." Hiccup insisted. "I'm sorry, Hiccup. But sometimes you have to fall bck on old ways." Gobber said sincerely "But he's a good dragon." Hiccup argued. "He's a good dragon!" Snotlout exclaimed desperately.

"There's probably just something wrong with him." Hiccup said. "There's definitely something wrong with him." Snotlout wailed. "We have to try to help him. We can't just get rid of him because he's having a bad day." Hiccup said."A bad day for a dragon can be a disaster for all of us. That's not a risk I'm willing to take." Stoick said firmly. "Gobber?"

The blacksmith walked forward and threw a bola at a roaring Hookfang. It tangled around his wings. A second bola tied his legs together. Hookfang tried to breathe fire but started coughing. "Ha! You're all out of fire." Gobber exclaimed triumphantly, drawing out his sword.

"I can't let you do this." Hiccup said, running forward and grabbing Gobber's sword arm. "There's no choice. It has to be one." Gobber said. Hookfang set himself on fire, burning the bolas and roared in Hiccup and Gobber's faces.

"Do you see that?" Gobber asked, staring into Hookfang's mouth. "I do." Hiccup said, letting go of Gobber's arm. "Time to put this beast out of his misery." Gobber said, sheathing his sword.

"Hiccup! What are you doing?" Astrid asked frantically. Hiccup held up a hand to stop her. With a battle cry, Gobber leapt onto Hookfang's face and held on as the Monstrous Nightmare struggled before he was thrown off.

Hookfang stopped roaring and thrashing around as he noticed the pain was gone. "Oh, you didn't kill him." Snotlout cried out in relief. "For a toothache?" Gobber held up a fang which was badly rotten and had a large, brown hole in it. "What kind of lunatic are you?"

"A toothache?" Fengo asked in disbelief. "That was the cause of all of this?" Namara asked, also shocked. "I knew something was wrong with him." Aniu exclaimed.

Hookfang happily flew over to Snotlout and nuzzled him. The boy laughed before realizing he was showing his soft side. "Stop it. Stop it."He whispered. Hookfang's eyes widened in concern and he put his rider down.

"Ugh, I don't know where that came from. Can you train that out of him or..." Snotlout asked. Hookfang, realizing his rider had reverted back to arrogant old self, growled and left.

"Thank you, Gobber." Aniu said gratefully. "A bad tooth. I can't believe I didn't think of that." Hiccup said. "That's because you're not Gobber. I've forgotten more about dragons than most men will ever know." Gobber said. "Well, I better go put the girls away."Sadly, he hobbled over to his cart."Gobber! Not so fast." Hiccup said quickly. Gobber turned to look at him hopefully.

* * *

Two days later, Gobber was in his forge, cleaning Barf's teeth. The gang's dragons were also waiting in aline to have their teeth checked.

 **"** **When the world around you changes, the good men find a way to change with it and Gobber is one of those good men. In fact, he is one of the best."**

Gobber was so happy he began singing:

"I've got my axe and I've got my mace

And I love my wife with the ugly face

I'm a Viking through and through!"

 ***Draco is the god and creator of all dragons. Most dragons believe in him almost the same way the Vikings believe in their gods.**

 **Ah, the Race to the Edge expansion pack for School of dragons is coming out soon. Looking forward to getting my hands on a Deathsong and Razorwhip. When it comes out, this story's updates will slow down because I'll be so busy enjoying the new feature. But I swear I'll finish this story no matter how long it takes me.**

 **This chapter was 13 and a half pages long on Microsoft office.**

 **Updated: 26. 07.2015 Australian Time**


	3. Animal House

**"** **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Remember readers, Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the gang. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **This chapter will introduce a new villain who knows Nava and Aniu. And he will be causing trouble for the main characters in later stories.**

 **Chapter 3: Animal House**

 **"** **Here on Berk, we've made peace with the dragons."**

It was a beautiful day on the island of Berk. A green Monstrous Nightmare flew over the village where Vikings were doing their daily routines.

 **"** **We're finally living and working together. And it only took us 300 years."**

A Deadly Nadder helped a man lift a heavy barrel into his house. A second Nadder chirped and flew up to meet the Monstrous Nightmare where they locked talons, spun each other around, parted and kicked each other.

 **"** **There's one slight problem. We forgot to tell the animals."**

Roaring at each other angrily, the two dragons flew towards a farm and landed in the sheep paddock. Three sheep bleated in terror and in their haste to get away, kept running into each other, but they managed to run to the far side of the paddock where their fellow sheep were cowering.

The two dragons roared and circled each other until Mulch and Bucket arrived on the scene. "Oh, not again." Mulch groaned."You go on now. Go away. Shoo." Together, he and Bucket shooed them away from the paddock so they could work in peace. "You know you're not supposed to be in here."

"All right, everybody, time to earn your keep." Mulch announced as he walked towards a yak. Bucket peeked into the chicken coop and saw no eggs. "It's chickens who lay eggs, right?" He asked meekly. "Do we really need to over this again?" Mulch asked in frustration. They went over it a million times before but Bucket always forgot.

"No." Bucket said but he lifted up a sheep to check if there were any eggs under it. "Mulch sighed. "Apparently, we do. Pay attention, Bucket." He said. "Wool. (pointing at a sheep). Eggs (pointing at a chicken). Milk (pointing at a yak). Is that so hard now, see."

Bucket still looked confused. "Oh, observe." Mulch groaned, he sat on a stool, reached under a yak, grabbed its udder and pulled. "Just grab the udder, like so and pull." But no milk came out. Mulch kept pulling until the yak had enough and kicked him away from it. "Uh-oh. I think we're empty. That's not good." They had to tell Stoick right away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless, Aniu, Nava, Astrid and Stormfly were racing each other down a snow-covered mountain by having Toothless and Stormfly slide on their stomachs. Nava and Aniu (in their dragon forms) were also doing this.

"Wooo-hooo!"

"Yeah!"

"All right!"

"Ha-ha-ha!"

The six of them were having tons of fun as they manoeuvred past trees, rocks and other obstacles. Astrid glanced behind her at Hiccup and Toothless who were catching up. Smirking, she had Stormfly fire some tailspines at them. "Whoa!" Hiccup yelped as he and Toothless barely dodged them. "Hey, Astrid."Hiccup complained.

"Whoops! Did I do that?" Astrid asked innocently. Toothless sped up and blocked Astrid and Stormfly's line of sight. "Hey, not fair." Astrid complained. But then Toothless lifted his wing and Astrid screamed as a tree branch slammed snow into her face.

"So, it's gotta be like that, huh?" Astrid yelled. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Hiccup said, playing dumb. Aniu and Nava laughed at them. Narrowing her eyes, Astrid tapped Stormfly's back and the Nadder shot fire at a large pile of snow. It exploded, causing Hiccup and Toothless to spin around uncontrollably. "Hey!" Hiccup complained. "It was her idea, but I approve." Astrid told him before laughing.

While all of this was going on, a guardian the same age as Nava and Aniu named Heep hid behind a snow-boulder. He had dirty yellow hair and dark yellow eyes. His wings were black, dark yellow, deep yellow, light yellow and white. He wore a yellow tunic, black pants, a brown vest and boots.

He lived in the same village that Aniu, her parents and Nava had lived in before they moved to Berk. And he hated Aniu and Nava for reasons he could not explain. One reason was they were much more powerful than him and everyone liked them while they ignored him. The reason was because he was arrogant, selfish and power-hungry. And he often bullied others too. He was also weaker than the other guardians. They could fly so much better and faster than him and they were much better at magic. The guardians used to treat him with love and respect like they did with their fellows and other creatures but he kept being mean. They suspected he was rather insane as well.

Right now, he was staring at Aniu, Nava and their new friends with a hateful look in his eyes. A light blue glow of magic flickered in one hand. Concentrating hard, he made the light grow. He was never good with ice magic. Then, he casted a spell that would cause a big avalanche. Once he was certain it had worked, he shot an ice blast at the Night Fury's prosthetic tailfin. It froze over and none of them noticed. Smirking, he left, flying away on weak wings.

Hiccup and Aniu chuckled before they heard a loud rumble from behind them. Glancing over their shoulders (or in Aniu's case: wings), they saw a large avalanche of snow headed straight towards them. "Oh,no." Both teens gasped.

Frantically, Hiccup tried adjust Toothless's prosthetic tailfin but it didn't work. "His tail's frozen!" Hiccup yelled when he saw the cause of the problem. "Astrid!"/ "Nava!"/ _"_ _Stormfly!_ " Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless screamed.

Confused at their friends shouts, Astrid and Nava turned their heads and saw the avalanche. Letting out gasps, Nava and Stormfly spotted a snow ramp up ahead and slid up it, launching themselves up into the sky where they flapped their wings and hovered. "Yeah!" Astrid screamed when she realized her dragon, Nava and her were safe. But she realized in horror that Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless weren't safe yet.

Aniu succeeded in doing the same but Hiccup and Toothless fell back to the ground when they tried sliding up the ramp. "Hiccup, Toothless!" Astrid, Aniu and Nava yelled. Stormfly screeched in alarm. Hiccup crawled down Toothless's back to pull the prosthetic tailfin open, wishing he could use fire magic.

Astrid, Stormfly, Aniu and Nava noticed a gorge opening up. "Hold on!" They screamed and flew down to help. "No, go back!" Hiccup yelled. Astrid grabbed Hiccup's hand and tried to pull him up onto Stormfly but they were too late as they, Toothless, Aniu and Nava fell into the gorge and everything went black.

Hiccup groaned as he sat up and placed a hand to his head. It was cold and it was so dark he couldn't see anything. "Astrid, Nava, Aniu?" He called out hesitantly, shivering. "Over here. Hiccup, I'm freezing." Astrid's voice sounded near him. "Me too." Aniu's voice said. "I'm not feeling the cold as much as you are but it's still cold." Everyone heard Nava say. Due to ice being his signature element, Nava didn't feel the cold as much as other people did.

"Come here, guys." Hiccup said. He felt a pair of arms wrap around him. "Where are the dragons?" Toothless roared from wherever he was and fired a plasma blast upwards, briefly illuminating the darkness. Stormfly also fired up a fire blast. "Toothless?"/ "Stormfly?" Hiccup, Aniu, Astrid and Nava asked.

Another plasma and fire blast later, sunlight filtered in from a hole in the snow roof. "Yeah." Astrid sighed in relief. "I see daylight." Hiccup exclaimed. "We're gonna get out of here." Aniu said happily. "Look what they did." Nava said. "They saved our lives."

"We might wanna be careful of when and where we are going to go Dragon-snowboarding again." Aniu said. They saw that Toothless and Stormfly had opened their wings, forming a wall around them. Then Hiccup and Astrid realized they were hugging each other and so were Aniu and Nava. Blushing and stammering awkwardly, they let go of each other. "So, we're good now?" Hiccup asked, still blushing in embarrassment. "Good-good as new." Astrid stammered before punching Hiccup on the shoulder. "Ow!" Hiccup yelped, still not used to Astrid's strength and punches.

"Sorry about the hug." Nava said. "It's alright. We used to give each other hugs at random times when we were kids." Aniu said. "All right. Now, what about Toothless's tailfin?" Nava asked, examining the prosthetic. _"_ _I have no idea on how it froze."_ Toothless said. Nava nodded before realizing something. "Heep!" He hissed in anger. "What about him?" Aniu asked. Nava showed her the tailfin and she gasped. 'I'd recognise Heep's magical signature anywhere." She said.

"Who is this Heep?" Hiccup asked. "And why does he sound so bad?" Astrid asked. _"_ _And how do you recognise his magical signature?"_ Stormfly asked. "Heep is a guardian just like Nava and I but he was our childhood bully." Aniu said. Then she and Nava proceeded to tell their four friends about him. "Everyone guardian has a magical signature that's unique to everyone elses. When a guardian casts a spell, usually nature magic, their magical signature can be found in the leftovers of the spell. That makes it easy to know which guardian had casted that spell." Aniu finished.

"Now let's get out of here." Nava said. Everyone agreed and Nava and Aniu flapped their and flew out of the hole. Hiccup and Astrid got onto Toothless and Stormfly's backs and followed them out. Together, the six of them flew back to Berk.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bucket and Mulch had got Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara to come over to their farm and look at the yak. "Ah, uh-huh." Gobber said, who was under the yak. "Just what I thought, she's not giving milk, none of them are."

"We know that, Gobber. We want to know why." Stoick said impatiently. "This reminds of the time I moved my mother in with my goat." Gobber said. "She was mean, ornery and ate everything in sight. My goat was so scared of her, she couldn't give milk."

"So what are you saying, Gobber?" Fengo asked. "Mothers and goats don't mix. Same with farm animals and dragons." Gobber told them. "We stopped fighting the dragons so now they're around all the time. The animals are spooked." Behind him, the Monstrous Nightmare flew towards the ocean and roared, scaring some sheep into playing dead. "Like I said, spooked."

Suddenly, Bucket started groaning in pain, clutching his head as if he had a monstrous headache. "Uh-oh, your bucket's not tightening up on you, is it?" Mulch asked him. "No, I'm just...FINE!" Bucket finished his sentence with a scream as his bucket tightened up even more.

"Well, whenever his bucket gets tight, it means a storm is coming." Mulch informed Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara. "It does?" Fengo and Namara asked in unison. Back at their old home, guardians usually flew out and predicted the incoming weather by examining clouds, temperature, time, etc.

"No storm. Everything's fine." Bucket said hastily. "Bucket." Mulch chided. "I don't want there to be a storm. If lightning strikes me bucket I could end up less intelligent...owwww!" Bucket wailed.

Mulch gently tapped Bucket's bucket with his hook-hand, earning a pained whimper. "Oh, ho, ho. That's one tight bucket. And the tighter the bucket, the bigger the storm." He said.

"But that's crazy. Storms don't hit this early in the season." Stoick protested. "And besides, who ever heard of predicting the weather with a bucket? Ha, that's what chicken bones and goose feet are for." Gobber exclaimed.

"If you recall, that bucket of his predicted the blizzard of Olaf." Mulch reminded them. "That was a bad one. It took us a week just to dig Mildew out. Owww!" Bucket said quickly. "And the rest of our lives to wonder why we bothered. Trust the bucket, Stoick." Mulch said. "You trust the bucket. I want a second opinion." Stoick said, walking away with Gobber, Fengo and Namara.

* * *

Stoick and Gobber rode on Fengo and Namara (who were in their dragon forms) as the two guardians flew up to the top of a slim mountain on the outskirts of the village where Gothi (the elder of Berk) lived.

"Gothi, I've come for your council. Is there gonna be a storm?" Stoick asked once they landed. Gothi started drawing with her staff in a patch of dirt she always had outside of her house.

"What's she saying, Gobber?" Stoick asked his best friend. "She says: 'what do you think?'" Gobber translated. Both men, Fengo and Namara looked at each other and shrugged. Gothi sighed (one of the only sounds she was able to make) and pointed at her house. The windows were boarded up and sandbags were all over the place.

"Oh." The four adults said. "How can you be so sure?" Stoick asked. "Was it the chicken bones or the goose feet?" Namara asked. Gothi wrote in the dirt patch with her staff again. "Uh-huh. Yep. She says she could hear Bucket screaming from way up here." Fengo translated. He, Stoick, Gobber and Namara stared at each other in shock.

* * *

"And then Toothless and Stormfly used their wings to block the snow." Hiccup recounted to Fishlegs and Snotlout on an abandoned catapult. "I never heard of anything like that. Not even in the Book of Dragons." Fishlegs said in awe. "Well, we were completely set on getting rid of them instead of properly studying them." Aniu said.

"I know! It was incredible! It's as if their protective instincts just kicked in!" Astrid exclaimed. _"_ _Yes, most dragons are very protective of anyone they care about."_ Stormfly said. _"_ _We'd do anything to protect our riders and families."_ Toothless added. Nava translated their words to the people who couldn't understand dragon language.

"Who'd believe it? The dragons we fought for years came to our rescue." Hiccup said, gesturing to Toothless and Stormfly who were sitting behind their riders, looking quite proud of themselves. "Yeah, if it weren't for them, we would've frozen to death." Astrid admitted. "Or buried alive." Aniu added.

"You know what, you four could've used your own body heat to keep each other warm." Fishlegs said innocently. Hiccup and Astrid, Aniu and Nava glanced at each other, blushed and quickly moved away. Who would do that?" Hiccup asked quickly in embarrassment, glancing at Astrid. "That's crazy." Astrid said."Or Aniu and I could've used our fire magic." Nava muttered, blushing as he glanced at Aniu.

"Hey, Astrid. If you're still cold..." Snotlout flirted, holding out his arms and blowing a kiss. Astrid glared at him and slammed her elbow into the catapult she was leaning against. A large pile of snow fell off and landed on Snotlout, burying him. "Hey!" The Jorgenson boy's muffled indignant protest sounded. Astrid smirked.

"Hey, Hiccup, Aniu." Everyone (except for Snotlout was trying to unbury himself) turned around and saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut walking towards them. "Your dads are looking for you." Tuffnut said. "Stoick looked angry." Ruffnut said. "My Dad's looked angry since the day I was born." Hiccup said sarcastically, standing up and mounting Toothless. Aniu walked to the edge of the catapult and spread her wings. "But I'm sure there's no connection." Aniu and Toothless flapped their wings and flew towards the Haddock House.

* * *

When they went inside, they found Stoick pacing nervously."With a bad storm coming, we could be locked in. We might not be able to hunt or fish for months." The chief said.

"But it's way too early for a storm." Aniu protested. "We're in the middle of winter. Bad winter isn't due for another month." Hiccup also protested. "Not according to Gothi." Stoick said. "Well, what are Aniu and I supposed to do?" Hiccup asked desperatedly. "I can't control the weather. Although Aniu has elemental magic, she can't control the weather either."

"No, but you two can control dragons." Stoick told them. "We wouldn't really call it controlling." Fengo and Namara (who were also in the room) muttered. "If they don't stop scaring the animals we won't have any provisions to live on."

"We would have some provisions left if every chubby Viking on Berk went on a diet." Aniu whispered. Hiccup heard her and stifled a laugh behind his hand. Bucket and Mulch chose that moment to walk inside, both carrying buckets. "Any luck?" Stoick asked, grabbing Mulch's bucket and tipping it upside down but it was empty.

"Not a drop." Mulch said miserably. "And this is after yanking on that poor yak for three hours." Stoick, Fengo, Namara, Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu glanced at each other. "But it's not like the dragons are trying to be scary." Hiccup said desperately. "They don't even eat farm animals. They eat fish." Aniu said. "True, but they're huge, scaly and breathe fire." Gobber said. "And now that we've made peace with them, they're everywhere. The animals are terrified of them."

 _"_ _My fellow dragons and I are trying not to scary to the farm animals but as soon as we come anywhere near them, the animals run away."_ Toothless said, but only the guardians understood him."Here's where you two jump in and say: 'we'll fix this'." Stoick said to Hiccup and Aniu. "Okay. But how long do we have before the storm hits?" Hiccup asked. "About a week." Mulch said. "No problem, more than enough time." Aniu said confidently. But Bucket grabbed his bucket and groaned in pain. "Correction: Three days and six hours." Mulch told them. "Uh, okay. Less time might be more of a problem." Hiccup stammered.

* * *

Two days later, the weather had picked up. Dark clouds filled the sky and it was getting colder. "Come on, big boy. You can do it." Hiccup said as he and Astrid tried to push a yak closer to a Monstrous Nightmare and a Deadly Nadder. "Come on. You'll like them if you get to know them."

"Hiccup, when trying to help a person or in this case a yak to get over their fear of something, it's not a good idea to force them." Nava said. "They must get used to them in time and rushing it is not a good idea." Aniu agreed with her boyfriend. "The dragons look scary but they're just big, scaly reptiles." Astrid said soothingly.

"Just like Snotlout." Tuffnut snickered. Snotlout angrily grabbed him and prepared to punch his lights out but stopped. "You're the guy right?" He asked in confusion, not wanting to hit Ruffnut. "No." Tuffnut squeaked in a girlish voice.

The two dragons roared at each other. The yak mooed and ran away, scattering some chickens. Fishlegs tried a different approach. "Okay, what if we looked at this from an animal's perspective." He suggested, dropping onto his hands and knees and walking around in circles in front of the dragons. "Oh, hello. Mr Dragon. I'm just a little sheep here. Walking, doing sheep things. Baa! Baa!"The dragons simply stared at him, wondering he was doing. "You know, they don't really seem so big and scary..." Fishlegs said before the Monstrous Nightmare roared in his face. The large Ingerman teen yelped and ran back to Meatlug, hiding under her. "Sorry, but I'm siding with the sheep on this one." Fishlegs whimpered.

"Look, I've learned that once you have a positive experience with something you're afraid of, it isn't so scary anymore." Hiccup said, herding three sheep towards the Monstrous Nightmare. "And that's what we'll have to do with these sheep. We've gotta prove to them that they have nothing to fear."

Behind him, the Stoker Class dragon sniffed the three sheep and sneezed, accidently spitting out fire and setting a sheep's tail on fire. It was a well-known fact on Berk that Monstrous Nightmares accidently spit out fire when they laugh, cough or sneeze. Nava caught the sheep and Aniu used water magic to put out the fire. "Oh, at this rate we'll never get any milk or eggs." Hiccup groaned in frustration. "What did we ever do to deserve the god's hatred?" Aniu asked, staring up at the already dark and ominous clouds that filled the sky.

* * *

The wind was howling like the storm that would come and snow was piling up around the village. "Ah, just as I feared." Stoick muttered grimly as he examined the food storehouse with Gobber, Fengo and Namara. "We haven't had time to fully stock the food storehouse. If this storm is as bad as we think it is, we're never gonna survive." He held a plank of wood to the doors and used Gobber's prosthetic hammer to hammer in nails.

"Not with this inventory." Gobber agreed. "We're going to need everything we can get from those chickens and yaks." Stoick said. "I'm not really comfortable putting my fate in the hands of a brainless, flightless bird and a big, woolly beast that sleeps in its own dung." Gobber told him. "Well, luckily our fate isn't in their hands, it's in my son's." Stoick replied. "And Aniu's hands." Fengo said. "I'm sure Aniu and Hiccup are doing very well." Namara said optimistically. If only she knew what was happening in the arena.

* * *

The farm animals were running all over the place. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs were simply standing by and watching the chaos instead of helping while Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava were trying to calm the animals down. "Another way for the animals to overcome their fear is to show them that dragons are afraid of things too." Hiccup said.

"Remember Magnus the Merciless. He was a pretty scary guy." Astrid said. Fishlegs shuddered. "I was afraid of him until I learned that was afraid of the dark." Astrid finished. "So during the day, Merciless." Tuffnut said. "And during the night, Tuffnut." Ruffnut joked before saying "Ow!" as her brother punched her on the shoulder. "Hey, that's a real problem." Tuffnut snapped.

"I'm just saying that knowing he was afraid of something made him less scary to me." Astrid said. "Yes, let's show the yaks that dragons are afraid of things too." Hiccup said, grabbing two eels from a basket and showing them to the dragons. The Monstrous Nightmare and Deadly Nadder roared and reared back in terror.

The yaks mooed and looked at each other, beginning to think the dragons weren't so scary after all. "I think it's working." Astrid said happily. "Now, we're making progress." Nava smiled. But one of the eels slid from Hiccup's hand and slithered towards the dragons, revealing it was still alive. The Monstrous Nightmare roared and accidently hit a sheep with its tail, sending the poor animal flying into the wall and sliding down it unconscious.

Hiccup groaned in frustration. "Don't worry." Astrid said, gently placing a hand on her boyfriend's back. "Worry? I'm not worried. Do I look worried?" Hiccup said, trying and failing to look unconcerned.

* * *

The next day, a lightning storm had started, signalling the storm was well on its way. Vikings gathered together and evacuated into the Great Hall, bringing with them whatever necessary valuables and supplies they would need. "Bring in everything you need!" Stoick ordered from where he was standing in front of the Great Hall's doors. Gobber, Fengo and Namara were beside him, helping any Vikings who needed assistance. "We don't know how long we'll be hunkered down!"

Bucket was being carried in a wheelbarrow pulled by Mulch up the stairs, whimpering and clutching his head in pain. "How' s Bucket doing?" Fengo asked. "Look at him." Mulch said in response to the male guardian's question. "He usually loves a wheelbarrow ride."

"I could use a pain reliever spell on him. It will temporarily take away most of the pain if he needs it." Namara said. "Yes, please." Bucket whimpered. At that moment, a loud thunderclap tore through the sky. Bucket's whimpering increased."Mulch, Namara and I will take care of Bucket." Stoick said. You, Fengo and Gobber will go find the kids and bring them here." With those words, he and Namara grabbed the wheelbarrow Bucket was in and dragged it up the stairs and into the Great Hall. Mulch, Gobber and Fengo nodded and headed towards the Dragon Academy arena.

* * *

The teens were all shouting as they tried to get the dragons and farm animals under control. "Hey! Calm down. Get back over here." Astrid ordered, standing in front of the Monstrous Nightmare as it tried to chase some chickens. "You know what I'm learning from this?" Hiccup asked, holding two chickens in his arms. "Chickens are, well, chicken." Gently, he put them down in front of the two dragons. "You don't say?" Aniu asked sarcastically.

"What if we showed them how much they have in common with the dragons?" Fishlegs suggested. Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava stared at him in confusion. "They both lay eggs, right?" Fishlegs asked, taking a dragon egg from his pocket. "A Terrible Terror laid one last week."

"Um, Fishlegs, are you sure that's a good idea?" Nava asked. "And do the parents of the egg know you have their egg?" Aniu asked. Two Terrible Terrors flew over to them. _"_ _It's alright. He asked us politely and we said yes."_ The male Terror said. _"_ _Only after he said he'll give it back once he's done with it."_ The female Terror told them.

Fishlegs gently put the egg on the ground in front of three chickens. The clucked curiously and surrounded it. One hen was brave enough to sit on the egg. "All right, see? An egg's an egg. Right ladies?" Hiccup said hopefully. Just then, the egg hatched. The three chickens were blown away by the resultant explosion. The two Terrible Terror parents went over to their young hatchling. "Until it explodes." Hiccup and Aniu muttered.

"Everybody out! The storm is here!" Gobber shouted, throwing open the gate and running into the arena. Sure enough, snow was falling heavily from the sky. "Wait! We haven't made any progress with the animals!" Hiccup protested. "Your father wants everyone in the Great Hall, now!" Fengo snapped, flying over to his daughter and her best friend, his wings were lightly covered in frost.

"Take the others. I need to stay and keep working with the animals. They're still afraid." Hiccup said. "I'm staying with him." Aniu said stubbornly."You can't get eggs from a frozen chicken! We've gotta get the animals into the barns!" Gobber shouted, herding everyone (teens, dragons and farm animals alike) out of the arena.

* * *

But when they got to the barnyard, the barns were completely covered in ice and snow. "So much for the barns." Gobber and Fengo muttered. "There's no other place to hold them!" Mulch yelled over the wind. "The Great Hall!" Hiccup shouted. "It's the only place we've got left!" Aniu shouted, folding her wings around her body for warmth. Nava walked forward and wrapped his wings and arms around Aniu in an attempt to keep her warm. "Thanks." Aniu sighed, leaning into her boyfriend's embrace. "Anytime." Nava smiled at her.

"So, we're going to have the dragons and the animals under the same roof. We know that won't work." Mulch said. "We have no choice. Let's go." Hiccup said. So off they went, making sure everyone stayed together and didn't lost. "All right, keep the dragons and farm animals separate!" Gobber hollered.

"This way!" Astrid and Nava cried out, both herding a sheep back towards its herd. "Come on! Come on! Let's go! This way, guys!" Fishlegs tried to help them out. Suddenly, a lightning struck a tree directly in front of Stormfly, the Deadly Nadder shrieked in alarm and her tail smacked Hookfang across the face. The Monstrous Nightmare roared, set himself on fire and reared up causing the animals to run away.

"Hey, I've got this under control." Snotlout boasted, standing in front of three yaks galloping straight towards him. But instead of stopping them, Snotlout got thrown into the air by the first yak, landed on the ground and then got trampled. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow. Okay, everything hurts." He whimpered.

Two yaks ran in opposite directions past Fishlegs, causing him to spin around and fall onto his stomach. Ruffnut, two sheep and a chicken ran over him as Ruffnut tried to catch the chicken. Hiccup and Aniu tried to catch two sheep only to face-plant into the snow. Both teens got up and groaned when they saw the farm animals run into the forest.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes in determination and ran back to Toothless. Aniu, realising what he was planning to do, spread her wings. "Where are you going?" Gobber asked when he noticed Hiccup sitting on Toothless's back. "I'm going after them." He said. "Forget it, Hiccup. We'll never get them rounded up in this storm." Gobber yelled.

"With Toothless and Aniu I can. We have to try. If we don't ,we starve to death." Hiccup said seriously. "No, your father would kill me if I left you and the others out here!" Gobber shouted. "Just let them go, Gobber." Fengo sighed. "They'll just do it no matter what you say. Aniu, please be careful."

"I will, Dad." Aniu promised. "Sorry, Gobber." Hiccup said as Toothless flew into the sky. "Hiccup! Come back here! Aniu, you too!" Gobber shouted as Aniu flew after her surrogate brother and his dragon. "Astrid, Nava, will you two talk some sense into...no, not you too! Astrid! Nava! You're not going...get back here, all of you!" Gobber yelled in desperation. But no one listened to him and once the dragon- riding teens were on their dragon's back, flew after their leaders."We'll come back as soon as we can, Gobber!" Aniu shouted. Gobber could do nothing but stare at them, dumbstruck. "Well, there they go." Fengo said, knowing just how stubborn Hiccup and Aniu could be.

* * *

In the Great Hall, Vikings were gathered around the fire pit, trying to keep warm. Every fire pit and torch had been set on fire to provide light and warmth for the Vikings by Arrow (Deadly Nadder, Stormfly's mate), Firesnow (Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang's mate), Clobbertail (Gronckle, Meatlug's mate) and Lefa and Rila (Hideous Zippleback, Barf and Belch's mate).

 _"_ _How long do you think this storm is going to last?"_ Clobbertail asked. _"_ _Don't know."_ Lefa said. _"_ _It should let up soon."_ Rila said hopefully. _"_ _I wonder how our mates and their riders are going?"_ Firesnow asked. _"_ _Hopefully, they are doing well and I hope Snotlout and the twins are_ _not being muttonheadsa and misbehaving."_ Arrow said.

Just then, Skyflier, Forestflier, Violet (Stormfly and Arrow's hatchlings), Ignitis, Infernia (Hookfang and Firesnow's hatchlings) and Boomer and Banger (BarfBelch and LefaRila's hatchling) ran up to were joined by two of Meatlug and Clobbertail's twelve hatchlings who were named Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie. Stonecruncher was a male Gronckle with dark grey scales and dark brown spots. His sister Sweetiepie was a real sweetheart with deep pink scales and deep purple spots. All of the hatchlings were only a couple of months old and had already learned how to speak and walk around. They would learn how to breath fire and fly in a few years time.

 _"_ _Hey, Daddy."_ Skyflier said. _"_ _When's Mummy coming back?"_ Forestflier asked. _"_ _She'll be back soon."_ Arrow said, nuzzling his children. _"_ _I hope she and the others are okay."_ Violet said quietly. _"_ _I bet my dad will be blowing stuff up."_ BoomerBanger piped up. The little green and blue Zippleback inherited his father's love of blowing stuff up. " _Uncle Snotlout is pro-bab-ly getting burned by Dad."_ Infernia said. _"_ _Yeah, cause Uncle Snotlout keeps annoying Dad and bossing him around."_ Ignitis agreed with his sister. _"_ _Come on, young ones. I think it is time you went to sleep."_ Firesnow said gently. _"_ _But I wanna saty up and wait for Mum."_ Stonecruncher whined. _"_ _We could sleep until they get back and you'll wake us up, right Dad?"_ Sweetiepie asked, looking at her father. Clobbertail sighed. _"_ _I suppose so."_ He said.

The eight young dragons had lay down to sleep when the main doors to the Great Hall were blown open by the wind and several people cried out. "Move those tables against the doors." Stoick ordered. Two Viking men obeyed but seconds after they had done so, the doors were thrown open again and Gobber and Fengo burst in. "Stoick, the barns have been covered in ice and snow! The animals have scattered!" Gobber yelled. Namara ran to her husband.

"Where's Hiccup, Aniu and the others?" Stoick asked. "Fengo and I tried tah stop 'em, Stoick. They went after the animals." Stoick sighed and walked towards the doors. "I'm coming with you too. My daughter's out there." Namara said. Then the doors opened again and Mulch and two yaks walked through them. "I caught these two." The farmer/ fisherman said. "I figured at least with these we'll be able to start a new herd."

"You might wanna check their genders, Mulch." Gobber said as he, Stoick, Fengo and Namara left the Great Hall. But when Mulch bent down to check the yaks genders, he realised he was standing in the way of the doors and the two men were glaring at him. "Oh, uh. Never mind, boys." He said awkwardly, walking further into the hall and allowing the two men to close the doors.

* * *

Back out in the forest, it was night time, very cold and hard to see. Toothless (with Hiccup on his back) and Aniu (in her golden-brown Fury dragon with emerald green spines and Monstrous Nightmare markings dragon form) flew at the head of the group. Both of them spat out blue and green plasma blasts to light their way and provide a small, brief amount of heat.

"You find as many as you can! We'll herd them back to the Great Hall." Hiccup ordered. "Can we please swing by my house? I'll like to get my heavy coat!" Fishlegs asked desperately. "Check this out." Tuffnut said to his sister before smacking himself across the face. "I'm so cold, I can't feel my face!" Ruffnut reached over and smacked Tuffnut across the face to see if her brother was telling the truth. "Didn't feel it!" Tuffnut yelled despite still feeling the pain from the strike. "That takes all the fun out of it." Ruffnut snapped.

Toothless and Aniu flew down into a valley and saw a bunch of farm animals running around. "There they are! Come on!" Hiccup shouted. The gang flew down and tried their best to wrangle the animals into a herd. "Yaks to the left!" Fishlegs yelled. "Chickens to the right!" Snotlout shouted as Hookfang flew past Meatlug, accidently clipping her side and sending the Gronckle and her rider into a spin. "Hey, I'm flying here!" Snotlout yelled back at them.

"Chickens, over here! Follow me this way! Come on!" Snotlout yelled but Hookfang saw a tree up ahead and moved to avoid it. 'Hey, where are you going? Aah!" Snotlout screamed when he and Hookfang narrowly missed another tree. "Sheep! Hey, sheep! This way! Baa!" Fishlegs called down to a flock of sheep running away from him and Meatlug. "Baa! Baa! Hey, it's working! Baa!" But then he and Meatlug got stuck under a fallen tree. "Oh, come on." Fishlegs groaned.

"We've got them!" Astrid and Nava (in his silvery-blonde Deadly Nadder with sapphire blue Monstrous Nightmare markings dragon form) yelled. Both Stormfly and Nava fired some tail spines at the sheep, trapping in a makeshift pen. "Gotcha!" Astrid and Nava exclaimed triumphantly. But Hookfang (who had somehow lost control of his flight pattern) and Snotlout (who was screaming loudly) knocked some tail spines down, freeing the sheep.

"Snotlout, what are you doing? You're all over the place!" Astrid shouted at Snotlout. "You try herding chickens with a dragon that doesn't listen to you!" He shouted back at her."Hiccup! Stray sheep!" Astrid yelled as she noticed three sheep that had separated from their flock. Hiccup and Toothless turned and flew past Astrid and Stormfly.

The three sheep were running along a narrow ledge when the smallest sheep suddenly slipped and fell off the ledge and slid rapidly down a snowy cliff before flying off the edge. The young sheep let out a terrified bleat as it fell to its death. Or it would have if a certain Night Fury hadn't flown down and grabbed it in its paws. The sheep looked at its saviour and Toothless down at it and gummily smiled before putting the sheep down beside its parents.

"Good job, bud." Hiccup smiled at his dragon. Just then, Aniu, Astrid, Stormfly and Nava flew up to him. "Hiccup, the storm is getting worse!" Aniu yelled. "I can't see anything!" Astrid shouted. "I don't think we'll be able to do this much longer!" Nava called out.

"Come on, bud. Give us some light." Hiccup begged. Toothless spun around and fired a plasma blast. Its light illuminated three silhouettes up ahead. Two of them seemed to have wings. "Stray yaks! 12: 00!" Hiccup yelled, pointing at them.

"I see them and they are huge!" Tuffnut shouted. Barf and Belch flew through the storm and grabbed the silhouettes in all four claws. "I got the yaks!" Tuffnut yelled. Ruffnut smirked at him. Then a voice yelled. "Put me down! Right now!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked and saw Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara dangling from Barf and Belch's claws.

Barf and Belch flew down and dropped them. Gobber landed on his face. "Do I look like a yak to you!" He shouted angrily, holding himself up on all four fours. Then he noticed he had landed beside a yak. _"_ _Stoick looks a bit like a yak."_ Barf said. _"_ _Yeah, just look at the horns on his helmet."_ Belch agreed.

Toothless and Aniu landed in front of Stoick and Hiccup dismounted and walked towards his father. "You shouldn't be out here, Hiccup." Stoick told his son. "Dad, I'm sorry I let out you down." Hiccup said. "It's not your fault, son. I'm taking all of you back." Stoick said.

Behind them, Astrid, Stormfly and Nava landed. "Which way?" Gobber asked. "Follow our tracks." Stoick ordered. But there were no tracks to be found. "The tracks will already be covered by the falling snow." Namara said. "And these four picked us up from where we were and flew us over here." Fengo said, glaring Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch.

"So much for that idead." Gobber replied. "Sir, what do we do now?" Fishlegs asked, walking up behind Astrid,Hiccup, Aniu and Nava. The three Viking teens shivered. Aniu and Nava tried their best to warm their friends up using fire magic. Stoick looked around and saw that Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout were also shivering. All the dragons were relatively unaffected by the cold.

"Everyone, come together." Stoick ordered. Every Viking and guardian huddled together in a group hug, trying to keep warm. Toothless (who had been lying down to sleep) saw the problem and called out to his fellow dragons. _"_ _Come on, we have to help them."_ He said. Growling in agreement, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch got up and walked towards the group.

Hiccup and Aniu raised their heads and saw the dragons surrounding them in a circle. One by dragon, each dragon reared up and spread their wings to shield the Vikings and guardians from the weather. "What are they doing?" Stoick asked curiously. "They're protecting us." Hiccup and Aniu simultaneously replied. "It's their natural instinct." Astrid and Nava realised in awe. Hiccup and Aniu smiled at their respective girlfriend and boyfriend.

Then Hookfang, Stormfly and Meatlug spat a fireball onto the snow-covered ground in front of the people they were shielding. Toothless smiled before he heard a sheep bleating. Turning his head around, he saw the family of three sheep huddled together shivering. The Night Fury ran towards the sheep and the two parents ran away, still scared of the black dragon.

Toothless stopped beside the little sheep and gently butted it with his head. The little sheep stared at the dragons with fear in its eyes but hesitantly forward until it entered the circle where it was greeted with kind draconian faces. Feeling the heat and warmth from the fires in its woolly coat, the sheep turned its head and bleated at its fellow farm animals.

Summoning their courage, they began moving into the circle. Once every animal was in the circle, Toothless ran back to them and closed the gap. The little sheep decided to sleep in front of Toothless. Everyone smiled at this. "Your dragons are really something, son." Stoick said to Hiccup. "Yeah. They are." Hiccup said in agreement. Toothless reared back his head and fired a plasma blast into the sky. The other dragons followed suit. Then, they all lay down and went to sleep, knowing the dragons would protect them.

* * *

When the sun's light crept across the land, the dragons woke up and shook the snow off themselves, also waking up the Vikings, guardians and farm animals. Stoick looked at his son and nodded proudly. Hiccup smiled back at him happily. Then everyone began their trek back to the village.

The villagers and dragons were eating breakfast in the Great Hall when the doors opened."They're back and they're all right!" Mulch exclaimed when he saw Hiccup, Aniu, Astrid, Nava, Stoick, Namara, Fengo, Gobber, the rest of the Viking teens, the dragons and farm animals enter the Great Hall.

Everyone cheered. "And the animals are all right too!" Bucket pointed out the plainly obvious. "Uh-oh. Here come the dragons." Mulch sighed, gently elbowing Bucket in the stomach. Hookfang roared and let the three sheep riding on his back dismount.

"Will you look at that?" Mulch remarked in wonder. Arrow, Firesnow, Clobbertail, Lefa and Rila walked forward to greet their mates with their children following. "Hey, everyone!" Astrid and Nava yelled to get the people's attention. "The chickens are laying eggs again!" Hiccup and Aniu yelled, both holding chickens in one hand and a chicken egg in the other hand.

The Vikings all cheered."I was right. Chickens _do_ lay eggs." Bucket said happily. A Viking walked up to Fengo and Namara and whispered in their ears. "Aniu." Both guardians said. "The renovations to our house is finished. You've got your own room. We can live with us now."

"Really?" Aniu exclaimed. "Yeah, really." Fengo laughed at the expression on his daughter's face. Aniu looked at Hiccup to see his reaction. "That's great news." He said. "I'll miss having you as a roommate though." Aniu chuckled. "At least our houses and rooms are right beside each other." She said. "I can just glide from my window to yours in my owl form."

"Well, Aniu. You better pack your stuff up if you want to move into your new room." Namara laughed. Everyone around them smiled and stared at the dragons, farm animals and Vikings mingling with each other happily. Gobber grabbed four fish from a basket and fed them to Barf, Belch, Lefa and Rila.

 **"** **We made our peace with the dragons when we saw that we could trust them."**

Stormfly and Arrow lay down to sleep with their children and some sheep tucked under their wings.

 **"** **All of us."**

Stoick and Hiccup smiled at each other and turned around as the doors to the Great Hall closed.

 **"** **Aniu and I have found that life on Berk has got a little warmer."**

 **Everyone, I'm so sorry about the wait. It's the second chapter's one month anniversary. And this month has been crazy for me. I've been reading lots of different fanfictions, going to school and my mum had to go to hospitals because of her sinus problems. And the Call of the Death Song expansion pack for School of Dragons is coming around the first week of September. The trailer is awesome. I've got my Razorwhip all ready for it.**

 **Updated: 26.08.2015Australian Time**

 **This chapter was 13 pages long on Microsoft Office Word.**


	4. Terrible Twos

_"_ _Dragon's speaking"_

 _'_ _telepathical speaking'_

 _Thinking_

 **"** **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Remember readers, Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the gang. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Chapter 4: Terrible Twos**

"Follow me." Hiccup ordered as he and his friends plus their dragons flew through the forest. Aniu flew beside them in her human form. "Low level evasive manoeuvres. Come on, bud." Hiccup said. Toothless sped up and zig-zagged past trees and other obstacles.

 **"** **When you're riding a dragon, communication is key. You almost have to read each other's minds. Or else."**

"Hey! What are you doing?" Snotlout screamed when Hookfang (his Monstrous Nightmare) flew into a thicket of trees. Once Hookfang flew out, Snotlout had been and walloped by a few tree branches. "Are you trying to kill me?!" He asked loudly. Hookfang roared in reply. "We've gotta go back. I think you missed a branch."

Hookfang instead flew into another thicket of trees, causing his rider to scream and be clobbered by more tree branches. When they flew out, Snotlout had two twigs stuck up his nose and two pinecones impaled onto his helmet horns. "Got it." He said weakly. Hookfang snickered at him. Nava (who was flying in his human form behind them) chuckled, flapped his wings , turned into his Masked Owl form and flew effortlessly through the thicket, not hitting a single branch.

 **"** **And you have to have an open mind, because sometimes your dragon knows better than you."**

Astrid and Stormfly flew past Hiccup and Toothless and the four of them gave each other a nod. Then Stormfly spotted a triangle shaped tree up ahead and chirped a warning to her rider. "Stormfly, up!" Astrid ordered. But her Deadly Nadder only obeyed half the command and throw her rider off her back and dove through the gap in the trees. Astrid screamed as she flew over the two trees and landed safely on her dragon's back.

"You were right, Stormfly. It was down. Whew, I almost died." Astrid sighed in relief. _"I will never let you die, Astrid."_ Stormfly said. "Almost died? I would have died!" Snotlout snapped, flying beside her on Hookfang. Then he started pulling a twig out of his nose. "That's a good look, for you." Astrid said, hiding a smirk at how stupid Snotlout looked. Snotlout promptly put it back into his nostril, thinking Astrid liked it.

"Hiccup, where are Fishlegs and Meatlug?" Aniu asked. "I don't know." Hiccup said."Hey, has anyone seen Fishlegs?"

"I saw him yesterday. Does that count?" Ruffnut said, riding on her half on the green Hideous Zippleback who was named Barf and Belch. Ruffnut rode on Barf's neck while her twin brother Tuffnut rode on Belch's neck. Hiccup and Aniu groaned and flew off to search for the large Ingerman boy and his sweet, affectionate Gronckle. They found Meatlug stuck high up in a tree and Fishlegs was stuck in the fork of a Y-shaped tree.

"Whoa, there you are, Fishlegs." Aniu exclaimed in surprise. "Are you okay?" Hiccup asked. "I'm fine! Just hanging out. It's not like Meatlug and I crashed or anything. Okay, we crashed. There, I said it." Fishlegs (whose backside was facing them) said sheepishly.

Hiccup and Aniu both grabbed Fishlegs's feet, pulled and accidently pulled his boots off. "Oops." Both teens cringed at the smell of Fishlegs's boots. Good thing Boot night was only a week away. "Sorry about that." Fishlegs said. Hiccup and Aniu tried again to pull Fishlegs down (while trying not to pull his socks off) but failed.

"Yeah, you're pretty stuck." Aniu told Fishlegs. " I think I know how to get you down but you have to stay perfectly still." Hiccup said. "Why? What are you gonna do?" Fishlegs asked. "Be careful, bud. Don't wanna hurt him." Hiccup said to his Night Fury. Toothless growled in agreement.

"Huh! Wait a second. What did you say about not hurting me?" Fishlegs asked desperately before Toothless fired out a blue plasma blast. It hit Fishlegs on his backside and knocked out of the tree where he landed he landed on Toothless's back. "Thank you." Fishlegs said, getting off Toothless's back. "I believe those are mine." He gestured to his boots.

Hiccup and Aniu gave the boots back to him and Fishlegs put them on. "Now what are we gonna do about Meat..." Hiccup asked but at that moment, the branches holding Meatlug broke and the female Gronckle crashed to the ground. "...lug?" Hiccup finished his question.

Fishlegs walked over to his Gronckle. "Can you two please not tell the others that Meatlug broke the trees. ( _whispering)_ She's sensitive about her weight." He said, gently stroking Meatlug's Gronckle wing- shaped ears. "How did this happen?" Aniu asked. "I don't know." Fishlegs answered. "I was just flying along, taking notes on the flora and the fauna, typical guy stuff. Then something weird jumped out of the bushes. It was like a –like a flaming squirrel."

"Really? A flaming squirrel?" Hiccup asked doubtfully, folding his arms across his chest."That makes no sense at all, Fishlegs." Aniu said. "Or a chipmunk." Fishlegs tried again. "Or some other flammable rodent." When Hiccup and Aniu continued staring at him doubtfully, he snapped.

"I don't know, Hiccup and Aniu. It scared us. Isn't that enough for you." Hopping onto Meatlug's back, he and his Gronckle flew away. _"He's telling the truth, you know."_ Meatlug said before she and her rider flew out of sight.

Hiccup turned to his two best friends and hopped onto Toothless's saddle. "Did you two hear that? A flaming squirrel. Everyone knows there's no such thing as a... FLAMING SQUIRREL!" A ball of fire shot past the three and into the bushes, knocking Hiccup off Toothless's back. "Whoa. You two saw that, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, we better go see what it is." Aniu said. Peeking over the log in front of them, what they saw made Hiccup and Aniu's emerald green eyes widened in amazement. A little dragon was hiding inside a tiny cave instead of a flaming squirrel. The dragon didn't seem to be any species that they knew about. Slowly and carefully moving closer, Hiccup and Aniu bent down in front of the cave.

"Hey, little guy. Who are you?" Hiccup asked softly, slowly reaching out a hand to the dragon. But it hissed and snapped its jaws at him. "Whoa! Settle down, little fella. I've never seen anything like him." Hiccup said. "Neither have I." Aniu said. Toothless crawled closer to get a better look and growled at the small dragon. "You're not helping." Hiccup and Aniu told him. "You know, I think we may have discovered a new species here." Hiccup said to his surrogate sister. Aniu nodded in agreement.

Toothless walked up the two teens and shoved them away from the little dragon. "Whoa, hey, Toothless." Both of them protested. "What has gotten into you. It looks like he's hurt." The dragon retreated back into its cave and accidently bumped its leg against a wall, shuddering in pain.

"Don't be afraid. We're friends." Aniu said gently. Hiccup took out a small sprig of dragon nip from his vest. "Here. " He held out the sprig to the dragon, but it growled and backed away. "It's okay. It's just a little bit of dragon nip." Aniu told the dragon. The dragon reached forward to take the sprig but Toothless growled, scaring the little dragon into jumping into Hiccup's arms.

Now that the little dragon was out in the open, Aniu could see it had deep orange scales, a gray head and neck. Two large dark grey horns on both sides on the little dragon's head resembled Stoick's helmet horns.

"Come on, play nice."Hiccup said before the little dragon accidently scratched him. "Ah! Little dragon, big claws.' Hiccup yelped. "Come on, let's go. We'll fix you right up." The little dragon stared at him innocently before looking at Aniu. _"Hey."_ It said in a male voice. _"What's your name?"_

"My name's Aniu." Aniu told him. "I'm a guardian. The Night Fury there is Toothless and the human is Hiccup. What's your name?" Aniu was aware Hiccup and Toothless were listening to their conversation and she had never seen a dragon like this one before. _"My name's Torch."_ The little dragon said. _"Can we go now?"_ Toothless asked impatiently. Aniu nodded and turned into her dragon form. "Come on, let's go." She said and together, the four of them flew back to Berk with Torch riding on Aniu's back, he was making sure he didn't dig his talons in too deeply.

* * *

"This is so exciting! It's a whole new species!" Fishlegs gushed when Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless arrived and showed Torch to them. "It doesn't look like a flaming squirrel to me." Tuffnut said, staring at Torch. "Why don't you tell us your species, young one?" Nava asked. _"Sorry, but I want you guys to figure it out by yourselves."_ Torch said. "He said he wants us to figure out his species by ourselves." Nava said to his fellow Dragon Trainers.

"We have no idea what's he capable of!" Fishlegs exclaimed in awe. " There's no telling what he might do." Tuffnut lowered himself down to Torch's eye level. "Flame. Do it." He commanded. Instead of obeying, Torch leapt onto Tuffnut's face and bit his nose."Aah! Get it off! Get it off! Aah!" Tuffnut yelled as he tried to pull Torch off his face. Ruffnut laughed at her brother's misfortune and found herself being attacked by Torch as well. "Hey, that is funny." Tuffnut chuckled, his nose swollen and red.

"Come on, you guys. This is serious." Hiccup said as Torch landed in front of him. "We have to figure out what to do with him. He's hurt." Aniu said. "He's hurt?" Tuffnut asked, rubbing his nose."He's just really scared. He'll settle down." Hiccup said. "Um, new species, remember." Fishlegs butted in. "We actually don't know what he'll do."

"Well, somebody's gotta take him home." Astrid said. Everyone steeped away, leaving Hiccup and Aniu with Torch. "Wello, little guy. Here's your somebodies." Both teens said. Torch just chirped at them.

* * *

But Stoick wasn't exactly happy to have another dragon in his house, no matter how small it was. Namara helped her daughter bandage Torch's leg. "No, no, no. He's not staying here. I've got a one dragon limit." Stoick said. "Oh, come on." Hiccup said. "He's not a very big dragon. Think of him more like a flaming squirrel."

"I don't want one of those, either." Stoick dropped a few logs into the fire pit. "Toothless, what are you waiting for?" Toothless readied a plasma blast but Torch beat him to it by shooting fire into the fire pit. "Ah, looks like you got torched." Stoick chuckled. The Night Fury grumbled and turned his head away.

"Oh, that's his name by the way: Torch, isn't it?" Stoick asked. _"Yep, it is."_ Torch chirped happily. "Yep, it is." Aniu repeated Torch's words. "So, he can stay?" Hiccup asked hopefully. "Well, we can't throw him out now. It'll be rude and impolite." Stoick said. "Namara, Aniu and I will eat dinner here if that's okay with you, Stoick?" Fengo said. "Be my guests." Stoick chuckled.

When dinnertime arrived, Hiccup and Aniu gave a basket full of fish to Toothless and one big fish to Torch. "Okay, one hundred for you." Hiccup said to Toothless. "And one for you." Aniu said to Torch. "There you go, boys. Your first supper together." Hiccup said. Both teens left to join their parents for dinner.

Toothless smacked his lips and prepared to eat his fish only to see Torch in his fish basket, trying to steal one of his fish. _"Hey! Would you like if I stole your fish!"_ Toothless snapped. _"Sorry!"_ Torch exclaimed and returned to his own fish. Toothless glared at him before eating his own fish.

When Stoick fell asleep and Fengo and Namara returned to their own house, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless were in Hiccup's room helping Torch find a place to sleep for the night. "Okay, Torch. This is where you are going to sleep." Hiccup said, sitting beside a small stone slab on the floor next to Toothless's.

But Torch curled up on Toothless's stone slab instead. The Night Fury saw him, growled, grabbed Torch's tail in his jaws and threw him off the bed. But when Toothless turned his head around, Torch was back on his bed again! "Awe, look at that." Aniu cooed. "He made himself at home."

"Toothless, you don't mind sharing your bed for the night, do you?" Hiccup asked. _"Yes, I do mind."_ Toothless snapped, but no one in the room listened to him. He growled angrily and jumped up into the rafters, curling up to sleep. Torch curled up to sleep on HIS bed.

"I hope he sleeps through the night." Hiccup said, lying down in his own bed. _"Oh, I hope he does so he doesn't cause any mischief."_ Toothless growled, laying his head down. "And you, go to sleep. Good night, Aniu." Hiccup said, blowing out his candle and pulling the blanket over himself. "Good night, Hiccup." Aniu said, turning into her Barn Owl form and flying out the window to her own room. When she inside, a smile crawled across her beak. Her room was much like her old room back at Guardian Island where she was born and raised. It contained a comfortable bed, a desk with a chair, a closet and a bookshelf. The room was big enough for her to walk around in her dragon form. There was an owl-sized perch as well as a fur carpet. Turning back into her human form, Aniu pulled back the blankets on her bed, lay down, pulled the blankets back over herself and fell asleep.

* * *

Out in the forest where Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless found Torch, a mother dragon returned to search for her baby boy. But when she found nothing, she roared in rage and breathed fire over the whole area.

In Hiccup's house, Toothless heard the roars and woke up. He looked at Torch before leaping out of the window and running to a good vantage point which gave him a clear view of the flames. The Night Fury got the feeling that something bad would happen soon and he had to be prepared for it.

* * *

Early next morning, Hiccup and Aniu brought Torch into the academy. Toothless let Hiccup ride on his back and once he got off, the Night Fury ran up to a ledge and stood guard. That was very strange behaviour for him.

"All right, Torch. Let's figure out what you are." Hiccup said, putting Torch down on a wooden table. "Oh, this is so exciting! Documenting a whole new species. Learning all about it." Fishlegs nearly squealed. "Wait, learning?" Tuffnut asked. "No, thanks." Ruffnut said, crossing her arms. "Learning is very important and can be fun, depending on what you're learning." Nava told them. Only his fellow guardians knew that Nava was a secret bookworm and he loved reading books.

"There's nothing in the Book of Dragons that looks anything like him." Hiccup said, flicking through the Book of Dragons. ' _Beside's a Timberjack.'_ Aniu mentally told Nava who mentally nodded in agreement. "We even get determine what his species is called." Fishlegs said, awestruck. "Huh. That is a really big responsibility. I don't know if I'm ready for that."

"I am! I'm gonna name the snot out of it!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Thirty inches for the wings. **(That sounded more accurate.)** " Astrid said, measuring Torch's wings with a measuring tape. "That's a big wing-span." Hiccup said. _Just wait until you see a Timberjack's wings._ Nava thought. Timberjacks occasionally visited Guardian Island when he, Aniu and her parents still lived there and he had been lucky enough to see them sometimes. He had even talked to a couple of them once.

Snotlout immediately began spouting out possible names for Torch's species. "Big Wing, Big Wingspan?" He asked. "May I have the honour of administering the claw test?" Fishlegs asked, holding up a blank sheet of parchment in front of him. Torch sniffed the parchment and used his wing-joint claws to slice it to pieces. "Look at his wing-joint talons. They're razor-sharp." Fishlegs said.

"Sharp Claw, Razor Talon, Razor Sharp Claw Talon!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Really, Snotlout? There must hundreds of dragon species out there with razor-sharp talons or claws." Aniu said, annoyed. "Snotlout is very bad at naming things." Nava said. "Hold on, is he serious?" Tuffnut asked, pointing at Snotlout. "You know what's next, don't you?"Fishlegs asked Hiccup. "No, not really." Hiccup said.

"Only the most important test to determine a dragon's reaction to eels." Fishlegs said in excitement. Hiccup smiled at him. "The eel reaction test." Fishlegs opened a basket and took out an eel. Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch shrieked and flew out of the academy at the mere sight of the slippery, slimy sea creature. But not Torch. Instead of shrieking and running away, he sniffed the eel, then ate it!" That made everyone stare at him.

"He ate it! He ate the eel!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "Eel Eater! Come on, that's perfect." Snotlout interrupted. "Fishlegs, has there ever been a dragon who wasn't afraid of eels?" Hiccup asked. "I've never heard of any." Aniu remarked. "Never in recorded history." Fishlegs interrupted, laying his arms around Hiccup and Aniu's shoulders. "We're in uncharted waters, my friends."

Torch chirped at them. "You here that, Torch?" Hiccup asked the little dragon. "You're one of a kind." Aniu said. "Now we need to get Torch to fly." Nava said. Aniu smiled at her boyfriend. "Maybe if Torch saw Toothless fly." Hiccup said. "Toothless, let's take a ride, bud!"

Toothless glanced at his rider but stayed where he was, although he did want to go flying. "Toothless!" Hiccup called up to him. "I'll do it, then." Aniu said, spreading her wings but Snotlout walked up to Hookfang laughing. "So much for the Dragon Trainer. We've got this." He snickered, mounting his dragon. "Watch and learn."

 _"_ _Watch and learn."_ Hookfang repeated, chortling. Then he shot out of the arena, into the sky and flew towards a bunch of sea stacks. "Hookfang! Aaaah!" Snotlout screamed. The other dragons, riders and guardians watched as Hookfang spiralled upwards rapidly, Snotlout clinging to his horns for dear life. Then the Monstrous Nightmare dived towards the ocean, barely missing Toothless (who barely twitched an eyelid) and flew back into the arena.

"Okay, your turn." An out-of-breath Snotlout said, dismounting his dragon. "But don't think you have to live up to that." Torch walked to the end of the table he was perched on and jumped off, landing on the ground. Then, he stared walking around in a circle.

"What's he doing?" Ruffnut asked. "I think something's wrong with him." Astrid said, concerned. "Oh, man. We broke him." Tuffnut whined. "Maybe he can't fly." Hiccup said. "Maybe he's too young." Nava said. Torch chose that moment to prove them all wrong by emitting sparks from his head and rising up into the air, still sparking. Flying higher with every spiral, Torch flew laps around the arena. The teens gasped in amazement as Torch flew to the center of the arena and spiralled down.

"You are one incredible little dragon." Hiccup said, picking up the no-longer-sparking Torch and holding him in his arms. "Whoa, look at that burn mark." Ruffnut gasped in awe, staring at the spiral-shaped burn marks on the stone floor of the arena.."Huh. Look at this burn mark." Tuffnut showed her his smoking, burnt armband. "Did you see how he flew?" Fishlegs asked. "He spun like a typhoon."

"And he came back just like a boomerang!"Astrid exclaimed. "And he spiralled like a boomerang too." Nava exclaimed. "Hot Spinner, Flaming Comebacker!" Snotlout yelled. "No, Typhoomerang." Fishlegs said, savouring the words on his tongue. "Typhoomerang?" Snotlout asked. "Nah, I don't get it." After those amazing discoveries, everyone left the arena to do their own things.

* * *

Later that day, Aniu and Nava took Torch for a walk around the village. The Typhoomernag was particularly interested in all the new sights, sounds and smells. Dragons and Vikings alike stared at him curiously. _"This place is so fascinating!"_ Torch exclaimed. "Yep, it is." Nava chuckled.

Then Skyflier, Forestflier, Violet, Ignitis, Infernia, BoomerBanger, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie ran up to them. _"Hey, Nava. Hey, Aniu."_ Ignitis chirped."Hey, little ones." Nava said. _"Who's this?"_ Skyflier (the unofficial leader of the Rider Dragon Hatchlings (or RDH for short)) asked, staring at Torch. _"Hey."_ Torch chirped, lifting a wing in greeting. "This is Torch." Aniu said. "He's a Typhoomerang."

 _"_ _Wow."_ Infernia said. _"Do you like setting things on fire?"_ Boomer and Banger asked simultaneously. _"It depends on what they are."_ Torch said. _"Would you like to be our friend?"_ Sweetiepie asked shyly. _"Okay."_ Torch smiled brightly at her. "Aniu and I are taking Torch on a tour of Berk, young ones. You can come with us if you like." Nava said. _"Okay!"_ Eight young draconian voices chirped. Then the young dragonets followed after Aniu, Nava and Torch.

* * *

That night, Toothless stood guard over Aniu's house and the Haddock house. Aniu was inside Hiccup's room, playing with Torch who was wearing Hiccup's helmet while Hiccup tried to draw Torch's picture inside the Book of Dragons. "Did you have fun with your new dragon friends, Torchie?" Aniu asked the Typhoomerang. _"Yes, I did and their parents are very nice."_ Torch said happily.

"Okay, Torch. Hold still. I'm trying to draw you." Hiccup said. "You're getting your own chapter." But since Torch wouldn't stay still, Hiccup decided to play with him too by making a growling sound. Aniu decided to read a book. Torch growled back at him and the growling match continued until Toothless heard a loud roar. It sounded exactly like the roar from the last night and it sounded closer then where it was.

The Night Fury leapt into the room and accidently knocked Hiccup of his chair, breaking his charcoal pencil. He also accidently knocked Aniu's book out of her hands, causing the book to fall to the first story of the house. "Toothless, look at what you did." Hiccup scolded. "Toothless, I was enjoying that book." Aniu complained."And now I've got to get more charcoal." Hiccup sighed, going downstairs. "Toothless, you behave yourself while I'm gone."

"I'll go get my book." Aniu said, following her surrogate brother downstairs. Torch made to follow the two teens. "It's okay, little guy. We'll be right back." Aniu said, stroking Torch's head before going downstairs. _"You better behave yourself, Torch."_ Toothless said before he heard the same roar in the distance.

Toothless leapt forward to hear better but his tail accidently slammed Torch to the side. Growling angrily, the Typhoomerang bit it, causing Toothless to growl loudly in pain and glare at Torch. He then proceeded to chase Torch around the room. Torch spat out fire to defend himself. The wooden floor in front of Toothless's stone bed was set on fire. Hiccup and Aniu heard and saw the flames and scrambled up the staircase into the room.

"Toothless!"/ "Torch!" Both teens yelled. Hiccup grabbed his blanket from his bed to put out the fire. Aniu helped him out by using water magic to throw water onto the flames. "What is going on here?"Hiccup snapped angrily. "Toothless, why did you do this? What is wrong with you?" Toothless roared and leapt out of the window and ran into the forest."Toothless, wait!" Aniu yelled. But when Toothless didn't come back, Aniu sighed. "It's okay, little guy. He's starting to worry us too." Hiccup said.

Toothless ran through the trees (and sometimes jumped from tree to tree). Didn't Hiccup and Aniu know that Torch was actually a baby? No one else except for him seemed to know that Torch was a baby, either. Maybe he should've told them but none of them ever seemed to listen.

He stopped when he saw two Typhoomerangs Torch's age and size playing in a small, grassy field. One was blue and evidently female. The other was yellow and evidently a male. A squealing sound was heard from the bushes and both Typhoomerang siblings looked up. A wild boar emerged from the bushes and ran straight at the two young Typhoomerangs who screeched in fear.

The Typhoomerang mother was nearby and was already angry about her other baby missing and landed in front of the boar. She roared in fury and breathed fire in front of the boar who was attempting to flee. Flying up into the sky, she spun around in a circle, still breathing fire. Eventually, the boar was burned to death. The mother Typhoomerang snarled in anger at the burnt corpse of the boar who dared to try and attack her children. Stared at the scene and ran back home. He had to tell Hiccup, Aniu and everyone else before it was too late.

* * *

"It's weird. It's like Toothless is jealous." Hiccup said to Gobber as the blacksmith sorted through coals in his forge. "Which is great. So, my first girlfriend is a dragon." The two last sentences were complete sarcasm. "I thought Astrid was your first and hopefully last girlfriend." Aniu said. "{Can't we discuss my love life later?" Hiccup asked her.

She was standing beside Torch who was perched beside the bellow. "Another thing we have in common." Gobber joked, hammering out a piece of metal "Something must be going on under the surface." Gobber continued. "Dragons are complex creatures, Hiccup. They operate on many emotional levels. Me? I've only got the one." Toothless ran into the forge at that moment, roaring. "Whoa! Okay, Toothless!"Hiccup tried to calm his dragon down.

But Toothless ran around in a circle and roared again. "You see? This is what Aniu and I have been talking about." Hiccup said, pointing at his black dragon. Toothless roared and pawed at the air. "Toothless, calm down." Hiccup ordered. Torch leapt out of his arms and landed in front of Toothless. _"I'm taking you back to your family, young one."_ The Night Fury said and grabbed the young Typhoomerang in his jaws before running off.

"Gobber, grab him!" Hiccup and Aniu yelled. Gobber ran in front of Toothless. "Ha! You wanna dance, big boy? Because I've got my dancing shoe on!" Torch squealed and sparked up, forcing Toothless to let him go. Toothless ran after Torch but Gobber grabbed his tail. "Gotcha! Whoa!" Gobber exclaimed triumphantly then screamed as he was dragged around the forge.

Toothless made Gobber let go of him when he slammed Gobber against a table. The he found something he thought he'd lost forever. "My panpipes! Now, I can get the band back together!" He exclaimed happily. Torch ran past Hiccup and Toothless stopped right in front of his rider. "Toothless! Back down!" Hiccup ordered angrily.

Both of them glared at each other until Gobber broke the silence by playing a merry tune on his beloved panpipes. "Not helping." Hiccup hissed through gritted teeth. "Sorry." Gobber said and stopped playing. "I don't know what's gotten into you but I don't like it." Hiccup said to Toothless who ran away. Aniu (who had stayed silent during the arguement) walked forward. "I don't know what is with Toothless, Ni." Hiccup said miserably. "Yeah, I never seen him act this way, either, Hic." Aniu said. Then Gobber started playing on his panpipes again. When he noticed Hiccup and Aniu were looking at him, he said "What?" and put his musical instrument away.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Hiccup tracked Toothless down and decided to leave in the Cove. Aniu was helping her mother heal a young Hideous Zippleback who had accidently injured one of its wings in a flying accident. "Whoa! Whoa!" Hiccup yelped when Toothless tried to fly in a different direction. "Toothless! The Cove is this way!" Hiccup yelled as he pointed at the Cove. "Where are you going? No, we are going to the Cove!" Having enough of Toothless's behaviour, Hiccup manipulated his dragon's prosthetic tailfin, forcing Toothless to fly towards the Cove. If he hadn't done that, Hiccup would've seen the giant-spiral shaped burn mark left on the forest floor from when Torch's mother protected his two siblings from the wild boar.

Hiccup landed Toothless in the Cove and dismounted. "Okay, you have got to stay here." He said. "I never thought bringing Torch home would lead to this. I've gotta separate you two until I can figure this out." Hiccup turned to leave the Cove but Toothless ran in his way. "Toothless, this is serious. You've gotta stay here." He walked past Toothless but the Night Fury got in his way again.

"Okay. A crazy, out-of-control dragon blocking my way out." He ran past Toothless again and the Night Fury was too slow to stop him this time. "Or not." Hiccup said as he reached the entrance to the Cove. He looked at Toothless one last time and left, leaving Toothless to roar miserably, his heart nearly breaking.

* * *

That night, Hiccup lay miserably in his bed, he looked at Torch who was sleeping on Toothless's stone slab of a bed. Aniu flew through the window in her Barn Owl form. "So, how did it go with Toothless?" She asked, perching on a wooden perch made just her in her owl form beside Hiccup's bed. Hiccup sighed and looked her. "He kept trying to stop me. It was like he was trying to tell me something. And also he kept trying to fly in another direction." He said. Aniu let out an owlish sigh. "I'll talk to him when I've got time to do so." She said, idly tapping her talons on the wood. "Goodnight, Hiccup." She said. "Goodnight, Aniu." Hiccup said, rolling over and going to sleep. Aniu nodded and flew back into her room where she settled down on her owl perch and fell asleep. Sometimes, she slept in her owl, wolf or dragon form to take a break from sleeping in her human form or when she couldn't find a comfortable spot to sleep in her human form.

In the Cove, Toothless hung upside down from a tree branch when he heard trees falling over and roaring in the distance. Letting go of the tree branch and landed on his paws, Toothless saw Torch's Mum walk through the forest, evidently still searching for her missing child. The Night Fury attempted to climb out of the Cove and warn Hiccup and Aniu but fell down again. Casting an angry look at his tailfin, Toothless roared in anger.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup, Torch, Aniu, Nava, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs and Meatlug gathered in the Academy. "You did the right thing with Toothless." Astrid said to Hiccup once he finished telling them what happened. "He'll snap out of it." Nava said optimistically. _"He'll probably just jealous. I'll get jealous too if this happened to me."_ Stormfly said.

"Yeah, but what if he doesn't?" Snotlout asked. "Then you won't have a dragon to ride. And if you don't have a dragon to ride then you can't be the leader of the Dragon Academy. Ha!"

"Yeah, then Aniu will take over. Do you really want that?" Astrid said. "But Aniu's not a dragon rider." Snotlout said intelligently, which was rather rare for him. _"Even though she and Nava are part of the Dragon Trainer Group."_ Hookfang said. Then, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch flew in. "You guys would not believe what we just saw." Tuffnut said.

"Excuse me. We're having a power struggle over here." Snotlout interrupted. "We're not having a power struggle." Hiccup and Aniu said. "The whole forest. Ultimate destruction." Tuffnut said in an awestruck tone of voice. "It was beautiful." Ruffnut said dreamily. "The whole thing was torched."

"Torched?" Hiccup asked in alarm, looking down at the little Typhoomerang he held in his arms. "Show us." Aniu ordered. Sometime later, the entire group were flying over the forest. Hiccup rode on Stormfly with Astrid. Following the path of knocked-down trees, they saw the spiral- shaped Typhoomerang burn mark. "Like we said. Ultimate destruction." Ruffnut said as the dragons , Aniu and Nava landed and the riders dismounted.

"We've seen that burn mark before. Hiccup said. "Not this big." Astrid remarked. "You know what this means?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "Big burn mark..."

"...Big Typhoomerang." Hiccup finished the sentence. Sure enough, Torch's mother was flying over the scene of the crime, breathing fire in her anger and desperation. "He looks really mad." Tuffnut remarked. " Uh, that's not a he. That's a she. That's Torch's mother." Hiccup said. "And she's lookin' angry."Nava said.

"Torch is a baby." Astrid gasped in realization. "Why didn't we ever see that? The way Torch acted, the way he talked, his appearance..." Nava said. Torch revealed himself and perched on Fishleg's shoulders. "That's what Toothless was trying to tell me." Hiccup said. "And we didn't listen to him." Aniu groaned.

"Whatever gets between that mother and this baby.. IS GONNA GET FRIED!" Fishlegs squeaked nervously and handed Torch to Tuffnut. "You take him." Tuffnut said, handing Torch to Ruffnut. "I don't want him." Ruffnut said, handing Torch to Snotlout. "Just leave him and let's get out of here." Snotlout said, handing Torch to Hiccup.

Torch saw his mother and chirped. His mother (whose name was Redspiral) heard this, saw her son in Hiccup's arms and immediately assumed he had intentionally kidnapped her son. Roaring angrily, Redspiral flew down to them. "Uh-oh." Hiccup said, realizing the danger he was in. "Now, Torch. Go back to your mum." He ordered, putting Torch on the ground.

"Run!" Hiccup and Aniu yelled. The Dragon Riders ran back to their dragons and Nava prepared to fly. But Torch didn't do what he was told to do and flew after Hiccup and Aniu. Redspiral followed them. "You guys go that way!" Hiccup instructed. "We'll lead her back into the forest, away from the village." Aniu yelled. "Hiccup!"/ "Aniu!" Astrid and Nava yelled, alerting the two teens to the fact that Torch and his mother were still following them.

In the Cove, Toothless heard the roars and knew something was happening. "Oh, please stop following us." Hiccup and Aniu begged with Torch. After a few minutes of running, they reached the Cove where Toothless was. "Toothless!" Both teens shouted and leapt off the edge. Hiccup landed on Toothless's back and spread her wings, hovering in place.

"Thanks, bud. We're so sorry." Hiccup apologised to his dragon. "We should've listened to you." Aniu said. Redspiral roared and spat fire at them, the two teens and the Night Fury barely dodged it. "Toothless, evasive manoeuvres." Hiccup ordered. Toothless and Aniu flew upwards, past some sea stacks and over open waters.

It turned out that Typhoomerangs were very fast dragons because Toothless and Aniu had to speed up. "Oh, why won't she stop?" Hiccup asked himself. "Hiccup, you might wanna look behind you." Aniu said. Hiccup did so and found Torch looking up at him. "What the hell? Torch, what are you doing? You need to be with your mother!" Hiccup yelled at him. The young Typhoomerang merely chirped. _"But I wanna stay with you guys for a while."_ Torch whined.

"Toothless, Hiccup, we have to try something else." Aniu said. "We'll use her size against her/" Hiccup said, formulating a plan in his head. Toothless and Aniu flew back to land. "Toothless, Aniu, up!" Hiccup ordered. The Night fury and guardian flew upwards. "Now, dive!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless and Aniu did so and pulled up just before they hit the ground.

Redspiral wasn't so lucky, instead she hit the ground as Hiccup planned. "I hope she's okay." Hiccup said. They didn't want her to get hurt, only stunned. _"Mum!"_ Torch exclaimed and flew off Toothless's back to his mother. He gently nuzzled her and Redspiral woke up to see her missing hatchling right in front of her.

Torch's siblings leapt off their mother's back to greet their brother. "Good job, guys." Hiccup said, stroking Toothless's head scales. "Everyone's back where they belong." Aniu smiled happily. The three young Typhoomerangs hopped onto their mother's back and Redspiral prepared to take off. "Good bye, Torch!" Hiccup and Aniu waved goodbye. _"Take care of yourself, young one!_ " Toothless called up to Torch. _"I will! Say goodbye to my new friends for me, please!"_ Torch yelled down to them.

Sparks flew out of Redspiral's back and she took off, ascending in spirals before flying away. "Let's go home, guys."Hiccup said. Toothless and Aniu flew back to Berk where they told the Dragon Trainers what happened. The Rider Dragon Hatchlings were rather sad they didn't get to say goodbye in person.

* * *

Stoick, Fengo, Namara, Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless and Gobber had dinner together that night in the Haddock House while Gobber played his panpipes. Hiccup and Aniu happily fed Toothless fish. "Ah. I wrote this song just for the occasion." Gobber said and continued playing. "We should've known you were just trying to protect us. That's what you do." Hiccup said, stroking Toothless's chin. The Night Fury then regurgitated a fish head onto his rider's lap. "And then you do that." Aniu groaned. Toothless chuckled at them.

* * *

When dinner was over, Aniu flew to Nava's room in Astrid's house. "Hey, Nava." She said, landing on the windowsill in her Owl form. Nava glanced up from the bookhe was reading in his human form. :Hey, Aniu." He said. What only a few people knew was that Nava was a secret bookworm.

"What are you reading?" Aniu asked her boyfriend. Nava held the book up and Aniu saw the title: Guardians of Ga'hoole: The Capture. "Can I see what part you're up to?" She asked. Nava nodded and showed her page he was reading:

 _Chapter Twenty-Three: Flying Free_

 _In the dark soul of that night, Soren and Gylfie only saw the stars and the moon on its silvery path into the infinite blackness of this new heaven through which they wheeled in flight. So once more the world spiralled. But this time there was a difference. It was Soren who was carving these spirals and loops. With his wings he scooped air, shaped it. There was not the desperate need for flapping and pumping now. Instinctively, he stilled his wings and rode the thermal updrafts., rising higher without even stirring a feather. He looked down at Gylfie, who was a few feet below him, catching the lower layer of the same updraft. Grimble was right. They knew exactly what to do. Instinct and belief flowed through the hollow bones of the two owls as they flew into the night._

Aniu read the first paragraph and nodded. "We used to read those books when we were younger." She said. "Well, I decided to read them again." Nava chuckled. Aniu smiled. "Good night, Nava." She gently nuzzled her boyfriend's head with owlish one and flew back to her room in her parent's house.

A very rare group of guardians found ways to look into the future. They didn't learn about a lot of things but they learned about movies and converted them into books and brought them as well as books and other things like songs back to their world. The Guardians of Ga'hoole books were written by a popular author named Kathryn Lasky. **(disclaimer: and those books do not belong to me although I have a copy of every GoG books Kathryn Lasky has published.)**

The next morning, Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu flew through the same part of the forest where they had found Torch.

 **"** **Communication between dragon and rider goes both ways. Not only must the dragon follow the rider's lead but the rider must listen to the dragon as well."**

The three of them flew over the spiral-burn mark Redspiral had left behind. It turned out that Typhoomerang sparks were a brilliant fertiliser as colourful flowers were growing in the spiral-shaped burn mark.

 **"** **Because sometimes what the dragon is trying to say is what you really need to hear.**

 **Hey, everyone. When I was writing this chapter, I was thinking about how big Torch was in Terrible Twos (this chapter) and how big he was in Defenders of Berk: Zippleback Down. Both of these episodes take place in the same year (well I think they do). And that's a very short time for a dragon like a Typhoomerang to grow from a baby to a young adult. Valka said Toothless was Hiccup's age (twenty years old) in How to Train Your dragon 2 and Toothless was smaller in How to Train Your Dragon 1. Maybe some dragons just take way longer than other dragons to full size.**

 **I believe only adult dragons can unlock their Titan wing form and Toothless unlocked his when he saved Hiccup from the Bewilderbeast's ice blast in Httyd 2. I also believe that Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch are the same age as their riders and they had children in Gift of the Night Fury when they were like fifteen.**

 **And as for a review for this story here's your answer: yes, I will write Race to the Edge. But obviously I must finish this story then write out Defenders of Berk. I'll be publishing another multi-chaptered story then I'll do Race to the Edge. After that will be How to Train Your Dragon 2.**

 **Call of the Death Song was pretty cool in School of Dragons. But the hardest part was (Spoiler Alert!) chasing the Death Song around on Thornado while shooting at it. I've gotta do that three times! I had to keep taking breaks whenever I could because my heart was beating so rapidly.**

 **# I noticed something: how could Torch eat that many fish! He was a small dragon so he could only have eaten one or two fish not one hundred.**

 **This chapter was 13 and a hlf pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 6.09.2015 Australian Time**


	5. In Dragons We Trust

_"_ _Dragon's speaking"_

 _'_ _telepathical speaking'_

 _Thinking_

 **"** **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Remember readers, Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the gang. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Chapter 5: In Dragons We Trust**

Trust is extremely necessary to forming a bond with a dragon. And that was one of the reasons why Hiccup was plummeting through the sky with a content smile on his face. Many people would expect him to be screaming and flailing around but he was perfectly calm.

 **"** **As you fly through life, it's always good to know who you can trust and who you can't trust."**

Hiccup flipped over so that his front was facing the ocean water as Toothless's baritone roar cut through the air. The Night Fury caught his rider expertly on his back. "Nice catch, bud. Even though it was a little close." Hiccup said, putting his prosthetic foot back into the stirrup that controlled Toothless's prosthetic tailfin.

 **"** **I know I can always count on Toothless, Aniu as well. And it's important for Toothless to know that no matter what, he can on me and Aniu."**

Hiccup and Toothless joined their fellow riders, dragons and guardians who altogether were known as the Dragon Trainer Group. The dragons had just recently gained their saddles and the riders were testing them. "It's your turn. Jump.' Aniu said to Fishlegs. _"I don't feel safe doing this even though I trust Fishlegs with my life. I don't trust myself to be able to catch him."_ Meatlug said.

"I don't wanna jump!" Fishlegs protested. "You have to believe she's gonna catch you. It's a trust exercise." Hiccup told him. "Hiccup, I don't think Meatlug wants to do it either." Aniu said. "I like to do trusting on the ground, thank you very much." Fishlegs said stubbornly. "Like this, chicken legs." Snotlout snickered and fell off Hookfang's neck with a whoop. Hookfang didn't even know his rider was gone.

"Uh, should we mention something to Hookfang?" Tuffnut asked. "Let me sleep on it." Ruffnut decided. "You might wanna look at where Snotlout might land." Nava said. "Hookfang, get him!" Astrid called down to Hookfang, who looked at her in confusion. Toothless roared at him and Hookfang remembered his rider who was currently in imminent danger of hitting the rocks.

"Not feeling the trust!" Snotlout screamed as he fell. Shrieking in alarm, the Monstrous Nightmare plunged done after his rider and caught him. But Snotlout landed on his dragon's head, preventing Hookfang from seeing where he was going. "We're coming in too hot!" Snotlout screamed and both he and Hookfang crashed through a roof of a house.

Regaining consciousness, Snotlout looked at the weapons on the walls, gulped and then came face to face with an elderly man who was glaring at him furiously. "Mildew!" Snotlout gasped in horror. With a scream from Snotlout, both he and Hookfang, flew upwards, crashing through the roof again. "You'll pay for this!" Mildew howled up to them before a small plank of wood hit him on the head. "Oh, something tells us we're gonna hear about this." Hiccup and Aniu both groaned.

* * *

That night, Stoick slammed two pieces of roofing material on the table in front of Hiccup and Aniu. "Shingle again?" Aniu asked."Didn't we have roofing material for dinner last night?" Hiccup asked sarcastically. Stoick glared at them. "It was an accident, Dad." Hiccup said. "I'm sure Mildew is making it sound worse than it is."

"A dragon and an obnoxious boy crashed through his roof...twice." Stoick said angrily. "Well, sure. It sounds bad if you're going to stick to the facts." Aniu said. "Of all the houses on the island, a dragon had to crash through Mildews." Stoick continued. "You know he hates dragons more than anyone else." Fengo (who had been staying silent throughout the conversation) said.

"We know." Aniu said. "You might want to talk to him about his attitude." Hiccup said. "Listen to me, Hiccup and Aniu. I gave you two the responsibility of training those dragons. Everyone knows that. All eyes are upon you two. Whatever those beasts (Toothless whined at his fellow dragons and himself being called beasts) do reflect on you and whatever you two do reflects on me, Fengo and Namara."

"We're sorry, Dad. You're right." Hiccup said, standing up. "We'll try harder next time." Aniu said, also standing up. You and your friends are going to go back to Mildew's and fix his roof without your dragons." Stoick ordered. "You caught a break there, bud." Hiccup said to Toothless. "Ah, not so fast. Aren't you forgetting something?" Stoick said, bending down and taking off his boots. "It's Boot Night. They need to be aired out." He handed his boots to Hiccup, who groaned in disgust and covered his nose.

Toothless sniffed and gagged. Aniu could smell the boots from right beside Hiccup, gagged and covered her nose. "I think it's gonna take more than air." Hiccup gagged and put the boots outside the front door. Then, he saw his friends put out their parent's boots.

"Ugh. I hate Boot Night." Fishlegs groaned. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were shoving their parent's stinky boots in each other's faces. "Why is his left foot always much smellier than his right?" Tuffnut asked in disgust. "Uh. Oh-no." Snotlout gulped back vomit and threw his parents onto the ground in front of him. Their smelly job done, every villager who had boots to air out went back inside their homes.

Snow slowly began to fall over Berk. The cold air would've been good for the boots. Around midnight, when everyone was fast asleep, a dragon's paw snatched a pair of boots, then another pair and another pair until every boot that had been left to air out was gone.

* * *

Villagers awoke the next morning and stepped out of their doors to collect their boots, only to find...there were no boots on their doorsteps. Stoick yawned and stretched as he walked outside to get his boots...but they weren't there. "Where are my boots?" He asked himself. Then Gobber, Bucket and Mulch walked over to him, each of them were barefoot. "Where are your boots?" Stoick asked them.

"They've all been stolen. Every last one." Gobber reported. "Oh, that explains why my feet are so cold." Bucket exclaimed. Then, Fengo, Namara, Aniu and Nava flew up to them. And none of them were barefoot. Hiccup and his friend still had their boots because the adults aired their boots out at a different time from the children and teenagers. "How come you still got your boots?" Stoick asked. "We use magic to air out our boots." Fengo said. "And because of that, we don't have to leave them outside." Namara said.

"Who could've done such a thing?" Mulch asked. "I don't think anyone, probably besides the Thorston twins, would've done this for a prank." Namara said. Mildew arrived at the scene. "All I know is they left a mighty big footprint." He said, pointing at three dragon footprints in a patch of snow.

"Oh, those are Zippleback tracks. You can tell by the half moon-shaped arches. That's Dragon 101, guys. I don't have to fill you in on that." Fishlegs said."Maybe I should've never have given Fishlegs Dragon Tracking lessons." Aniu sighed, facepalming. "Knowing him, Mildew is going to use this information to peg the dragons as the culprits." Nava said. "So a dragon walked through here."Hiccup said. "A Zippleback, according to my friend Fishlegs. But that doesn't mean he took everyone's boots."

Just then, Lefa, Rila, Boomer and Banger walked up to them. _"Has anyone seen Barf and Belch?"_ Lefa and Rila asked. _"Yeah, where's Dad?"_ Boomer and Banger asked. "Well, there's just one way to find out if that dragon took our boots." Mildew said. "Follow the footprints."There was a nasty grin on his face and everyone, including the two Zipplebacks followed the footprints.

The footprints led them to the arena where they found Barf and Belch sleeping beside a huge pile of stolen boots. Many of them were slashed and ripped. Lefa and Rila went to her mate's side. _"Come on, Dad. Wake up."_ Boomer said, nuzzling Belch's head with his own. _"Rise and shine, it's a glorious day today."_ Banger said, gently headbutting Barf's head. Barf and Belch woke up at the sound of his son's voices. _"Hey, son."_ Barf said, nuzzling his son's heads with his own. _"Good morning, love."_ Belch said to Lefa and Rila.

Hiccup waited till the three Hideous Zipplebacks were listening before speaking. "So there's a bunch of boots piled around a Zippleback. That doesn't mean..." Stoick picked up a boot with bitemarks in it. "Okay, fine. He took the boots." Hiccup said reluctantly. "How are we supposed to do any work in this weather without our boots?" One Viking asked. "This is outrageous!" Another exclaimed.

"How long before something is done about these creatures, Stoick?" Mildew asked. "How much more can we stand?" Many Vikings began yelling out complaints and agreements. "Oh, listen to yourselves. My feet are cold." Gobber said. "We're Vikings. Everything is cold! I'll fix your boots for yah. You'll be back to work in no time."

"You all heard Gobber." Stoick announced. "You'll be getting your boots back as good as new." Many Vikings continued chattering. "That's it?" Mildew asked incredulously. "No consequences for these dragons?"

"They took our boots, Mildew. The world isn't coming to an end." Stoick said. "Oh, don't be so sure. Dragons are wild beasts. There's no telling what they'll do behind our sleeping backs." Mildew said. "Mildew, you'll be surprised to know that dragons have feelings, emotions and thoughts too." Aniu said. "Oh, do they now?" Mildew sneered, not believing Aniu at all. _Winged freak._ He thought viciously. _With all their notions of peace and prosperity._

"They don't destroy things on purpose." Hiccup said. Mildew scoffed at him. "But you do have a point, Mildew." The old man stared at him in shock. "They are wild animals and they need us to keep an eye on them. And rest assured, we will do just that. Would you get outta here, please?" Hiccup said, directing his question at the three Zipplebacks who were listening to everything they were saying. BarfBelch, LefaRila and BoomerBanger left.

Then Hiccup and Aniu noticed a footprint Barf and Belch had left behind as they walked outside the arena. They looked at another footprint, the one BarfBelch had supposedly left when they walked inside the arena. But they were different.

* * *

"We're going on Night Patrol." Hiccup and Aniu told their friends later that day on an abandoned catapult. "Night Patrol! I love it!" Tuffnut piped up enthusiastically. "What is it?"

"It's where we patrol, at night, to keep an eye on the dragons and make sure they don't get blamed for anything else." Hiccup said. "Um, have you cleared this with our parents?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "Because some of us might not be allowed out after a certain hour."

"Not allowed, or afraid?" Snotlout sneered. "Hey, things happen after dark." Fishlegs said, annoyed. "Guys, we have to do this." Aniu said. "I'm agreeing with her." Nava said. "You heard Mildew, he wants the dragons banished." Hiccup said. "Permission to shoot first and ask questions later." Ruffnut requested eagerly. "Permission to skip the questioning." Tuffnut requested. "We're just patrolling. Nobody is shooting anyone." Hiccup told them. "I have a question." Tuffnut said, raising his hand. "What's fun about that?"

"It's not supposed to be fun." Nava said. "It's a Hiccup idea." Astrid said. "Exactly. Wait, what?" Hiccup realized what Astrid said about him. "Ooh, Hiccup. You just got burned by your girlfriend." Aniu and Nava snickered. "You're ones to talk, lovebirds." Astrid smirked at the two guardians, who blushed and moved away from each other. The teens tried to come up with a good name, but it wasn't very good at all.

* * *

That night, Astrid (who was wearing a sash with the patrol's name on it) and Nava knocked on a Viking's door. It was decided that Astrid would do the talking. "Hello, sir." Astrid said confidently, only to realize that the person she was talking to was in fact a woman who was eating some chicken. "Uh, ma'am." Astrid corrected herself. Nava made a quick 'keep talking' gesture from where was standing out of the woman's eyesight.

"My name is Astrid and I'm with the Dragon United Monitoring Brigade." Astrid said. "DUMB?" The woman asked, pointing at Astrid's sash. "Yes, that is correct. Not my idea." Astrid admitted. "But it is easy to remember. If you have any dragon-related problems, just contact us. Just cup a hand on either side of your mouth and at the top of your lungs yell..." The woman closed the door in her face. "...DUMB." Astrid finished her sentence. "Well, on the bright side, it could've gone a lot worse." Nava said optimistically.

Meanwhile, Snotlout and Hookfang were walking around the village. "Halt! Who goes there?" Snotlout called out when something moved in the shadows. "Take a wild guess." Gobber said. "I don't think I like your attitude." Snotlout told him. "Right back at ya." Gobber replied. "Yeah, but I'm the one with the sash." Snotlout said, behind him Hookfang walked away. He was getting bored with the proceedings and wanted some sleep. "Let me take a closer look at that." Gobber said, grabbing Snotlout's sash with his hook-hand and lifting Snotlout off the ground. "DUMB? Well, that's suits you." Gobber said. "Okay, I think we're done here." Snotlout squeaked nervously.

Fishlegs and Meatlug were nervously walking around the village when two scary shadows appeared on the ground in front of him. "Oh! What is that?" Fishlegs asked himself, already scared. He didn't know it was just Ruffnut and Tuffnut playing a prank on him. Hookfang, curious to see what they were doing, walked up behind them. His shadow was cast on the ground and scared Fishlegs and Meatlug away. "Did you see me scare them?" Both twins asked each other at the same time. It quickly launched into an argument.

"No, I scared them."

"No, I scared them."

"No, it was me."

"No, it was me."

"No, it was clearly me."

"Everyone looking could tell I did it."

Hookfang walked away and was out of sight as Hiccup and Toothless flew over the village. Many dragons were sleeping in whatever available space they could find. "Well, Mildew will be happy to know what dragons do at night. They sleep like everyone else." Hiccup said to Toothless. Meanwhile, Aniu was patrolling around the Great Hall. "Well, nothing's happened so far and I think it will stay that way." Aniu said to herself.

But she didn't notice the Great Hall doors open and something slip inside. The figure travelled around the Great Hall, leaving claw marks on the walls and statues, tearing tapestries to shreds and wrecking other stuff.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup and Toothless slept in their beds until a rock was thrown through the window and hit the wall. "Hiccup Haddock! Toothless! Can you , in the name of the gods, please wake up!" Aniu yelled from outside. "What is it, Aniu?" Hiccup groaned, walking to the window. "You and Toothless have got to come to the Great Hall. "We're on our way!" Hiccup called down. "Let's go bud." The Night Fury growled and left his bed. _'I wonder what's going on?"_ Toothless asked himself as he, Aniu and Hiccup flew to the Great Hall.

Inside the Great Hall, Viking were examining the damage. "Who could've done such a thing?" Stoick asked. "Oh, looks like a dragon to me." Fishlegs said, examining claw marks on a pillar. "We don't know for sure, Fishlegs." Hiccup said. "Sure, we do. Look at these claw marks. It was obviously a Monstrous Nightmare. The spacing of the talons is dead-on." Fishlegs said. "Once again, thank you, Fishlegs." Aniu said, annoyed. "Oh, stop. It's just basic stuff." Fishlegs said, embarrassed.

"But how could this happen?" Nava asked. "We had every dragon accounted for at all times. Right, guys?" Astrid said. When you say at all times and every dragon what exactly do you mean?" Snotlout asked. Hiccup, Aniu and Nava face palmed. "Okay, what happened, Snotlout?" Aniu asked. "Well, I was detaining a suspect who wasn't showing sufficient respect to the sash." Snotlout told them. "I think I showed sufficient respect to a sash that says DUMB." Gobber said.

"We gotta change that name." Astrid sighed. "I'm thinking that something like Berk Watch will be way better." Nava said. "I agree." Aniu said to her boyfriend. "Anyways, as I was questioning said suspect, Hookfang may have, and I'm not saying he did, but it is possible he wandered off for a few..." Snotlout continued. "Seconds?" Ruffnut supplied. "Minutes?" Tuffnut asked. "...hours." Snotlout finished, everyone groaned.

"Oh, that's way longer than minutes." Tuffnut said. To make matters worse, Mildew arrived. "Oh, no, it's true. The Great Hall. So many memories. My three weddings. Their three funerals. Oh, the funerals." He said. A dragon must've gone on a rampage." Gobber said. "If a dragon had gone on a rampage, it would've most likely done it in the village." Fengo said. "And plrenty of things would've been burnt." Namara said.

"I hate to say it, Stoick, but you're gonna have to..." Gobber continued. "I know what has to be done, Gobber." Stoick said. "So do I." Mildew said, hurrying to Stoick's side. He was desperate to have Stoick banish the dragons. Stoick turned to Hiccup and Aniu. "Starting tonight and every night, I want all the dragons put in the academy under lock and key." He said. "What? That's it?" Mildew exclaimed. "Look at what they did!"

"What you think they did, Mildew." Aniu said, causing Mildew to glare at her. "This just doesn't make any sense. A dragon wouldn't just come in and destroy the place." Hiccup said. "None of the food was even touched." Nava said, gesturing to the piles of untouched fish placed around the Great Hall. "And we all know how much dragons love fish." Astrid said.

"I don't know why dragons do what they do but I'm not going to let them do any more damage." Stoick said, his decision final. Then he, Gobber, Fengo, Namara and Mildew (who looked over his shoulder and sneered at the teens) left. The dragon trainers all looked at each other sadly.

* * *

In the late afternoon, just before dusk, the Dragon Riders flew their dragons to the academy. Their dragons families followed them. Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara stared up at the teens. "You had to cage the dragons, Stoick. You had no choice." Gobber said. "I know. But to Hiccup, when I punish them, I'm punishing him." Stoick sadly.

"Yeah, that boy thinks the dragons can do no wrong." Gobber said. "I just hope he understands that while a father does what's best for his son, a chief must do what's best for the village." Stoick told him. "I believe Hiccup knows that you're trying to be a good father to him and a good chief to the village at the same time." Fengo said. "Being a leader, chief or even a king means you must make sacrifices for the good of what you rule over." Namara said wisely.

In the academy, the dragons were very upset and had to be comforted by the dragon trainers. "Sleep, little, Meatlug, Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie in your beds, where yummy little boulders dance in your heads..." Fishlegs sang to the Gronckle family, but they growled and turned their heads away.

"That usually works. Now, our whole bedtime routine is upset. Meatlug won't even lick my feet, thanks to..."Fishlegs said. "Watch it Fishlegs. At least these dragons (he pointed to Hookfang, Firesnow, Ignitis and Infernia) don't need a lullaby and a blankie." Snotlout snapped.

"Actually, it's your fault that all our dragons have to sleep in jail." Ruffnut said. Barf and Belch were behind their riders and Boomer and Banger was behind his *father being comforted by Lefa and Rila. "Yeah, you don't see our dragon going on a rampage and wrecking stuff." Tuffnut said. Barf and Belch (who was arguing with Hookfang) stepped forward and accidently crushed a wooden bow under his paw. "Well, not any good stuff." Tuffnut said.

"I don't think a dragon wrecked the Great Hall or stole the boots." Hiccup said. "None of us want to believe it either, Hiccup, but you saw the proof." Astrid said. "What proof? You saw the footprints too. They were supposed to be made by a Zippleback but they were no deeper than mine. Look at these. I could lie down in them." Hiccup said, gesturing at a Zippleback's footprint in a patch of snow.

"Well, there could be a lot of explanations as to why a dragon made shallow footprints." Fishlegs said. "Like, hello, it was trying to be sneaky." Ruffnut interjected. "All right. Well, how do you explain the Great Hall?" Astrid asked. "The dragon, if it was a dragon who did that damage, showed no signs of trying to be sneaky." Nava said. Everyone was distracted by Hookfang and BarfBelch, who were roaring and snapping at each other. _"Come on, you two. Break it up."_ Firesnow said. When she had no luck, the female Monstrous Nightmare groaned.

Hookfang set himself on fire. "Snotlout, do something about Hookfang, please. We're trying to think over here." Aniu said. "Yeah, I gave up on thinking. Never been happier." Tuffnut said. "Snotlout." Hiccup demanded when Hookfang continued to growl angrily. "I'm not the boss of him. He always does that when he's angry." Snotlout said.

As Hookfang stomped around, the male dragon left a Monstrous Nightmare paw-shaped scorch mark on the stone floor of the academy. "Or goes on a rampage." Hiccup whispered to himself, staring at the scorch mark."That's how I can explain the Great Hall. I gotta tell my dad about this." Hiccup leapt onto Toothless's back and the Night Fury flew out of the academy. "I'm coming with you!" Aniu shouted, flying after her surrogate brother.

* * *

It was night time when they reached the Great Hall and Toothless waited outside while Hiccup and Aniu tried to explain their findings to Stoick, Fengo and Namara. "Just hear us out, Dad." Hiccup said to his father. "When a Monstrous Nightmare gets mad, its whole body bursts into flames." Aniu said.

"Look at these walls, not a single scorch mark." Hiccup said, gesturing at the walls. "Hiccup, Aniu, until I have solid proof that it was something else, the dragons stay where they are." Stoick said firmly.

Outside, Toothless was sleeping until he heard a distant clatter. Walking down the stairs until he was outside the Armory, he went inside the building. A Viking who was emptying a bucket outside his window saw him. _"Hello? Anyone in here?"_ Toothless called out as he walked through the building, seeing all the weapons on the shelfs and hanging of the walls. A window opened and Toothless stared at it.

Then he heard a familiar hiss and saw a barrel which held an explosive liquid catch on fire. Then, it exploded, Toothless barely ran out the doors in time. "Fire! Fire at the Armory!" Many Vikings screamed. Hiccup, Aniu, Stoick, Fengo and Namara heard the commotion and ran outside and down the stairs.

"The Armory! Grab some buckets!" Stoick shouted. The Vikings did what they told to do and threw onto the flames. Aniu and fellow guardians helped by using water and ice magic to put out the fire, but it was too late. Then Stoick saw Toothless sitting on the stairs, watching the fire in shock. "Toothless?" He asked, mortified.

"It was him!" A Viking shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the Night Fury. "He set the Armory on fire!" Hiccup dropped his buckets in shock. By the time the fire was finally put out, the Armory was nothing but ashes and smoldering wood. "Every one of our weapons gone." Stoick said. Vikings were known for keeping their personal weapons in their own homes but those weren't enough.

"Prudence! My poor darling. I'm so sorry. You should've had a long, bloodletting life." Gobber said, holding a melted and badly twisted sword in his hands. "She didn't have to die, Gobber." Mildew said, arriving on the scene. "Hiccup's dragon left us utterly defenceless!" Many Vikings began chattering.

"Dad, you know Toothless wouldn't do this." Hiccup said desperately. "They're innocent, Stoick. They would never do this." Aniu begged."Sure, listen to your boy and his best friend, Stoick. That's what got us into this mess. See what happens when you leave your dragon all alone to wait outside?" Mildew sneered, directing his last sentence at Hiccup.

"What did you say?" Hiccup asked as soon as he realized that there was something suspicious about Mildew's question. "Cindy! Oh, I guess your throat- slicing days are over." Gobber wailed, holding another sword.

Stoick sighed. "These dragons have done too much damage. It's no longer safe to have them on Berk. I want them gone." He said. "What?" Hiccup and Aniu gasped."Finally!" Mildew exclaimed happily. "Round them up and take them all to Dragon Island." Stoick ordered Hiccup and Aniu. Then he stepped forward to make an announcement to the villagers.

"By the end of the day tomorrow, there will be no more dragons on Berk. " He said. Astrid, Nava and the other Dragon Trainers gasped. "Oh, what a glorious day that will be." Mildew said wistfully. "Party at my house!"

"Don't forget, you two." Mildew said, rounding on Hiccup and Aniu. "Right after you drop off that Night Fury, you will be fixing my roof." Sneering at the two upset teens, he left. "Okay, that's it!" Aniu hissed before charging at Mildew, but Hiccup held her back. "What's your problem, Mildew?" She yelled angrily. "You only care about yourself and no one else. To make yourself happy, you gotta make everyone else sad and unhappy. You always complain about things when they don't happen as you want them to happen. You're nothing but a selfish, arrogant, ugly, spiteful, rude, boastful, smelly old man!"

Mildew slowly turned towards her. "Well, you're nothing more than a winged freak!" He spat at her. Hiccup felt a rush of anger at what Mildew had called his best friend. Aniu's emerald green eyes flashed angrily and her wings flared out slightly. "You better take that back before I punch you in the face." She hissed.

Mildew growled and left. "This is wrong." Hiccup said, letting go of Aniu. "I know. It's horrible. It's one of the worst days of my life." Astrid said sorrowfully. "No, Astrid. Something here doesn't add up." Hiccup said."We have to do something about this." Nava said. "All I know is that I'm losing my dragon and her family." Fishlegs whimpered, walking away. "For now, yeah. Okay. But I-I need time to fix this." Hiccup said. "What are you talking about? It's over." Snotlout said. "Forget it. It's over." Ruffnut said. "Yeah, forget it." Tuffnut said."Guys, don't give up on hope. You just have to keep hoping that everything will be fixed and the dragons will be allowed to come back." Aniu said but none of them listened to her. Hiccup's green eyes narrowed in determination then he heard sniffling beside him. He turned to look at Aniu. "You okay?" He asked her gently. "No, I'm not." Aniu said. Hiccup gently gave her a hug, putting his arms around her lower back under her wings. "We'll get the dragons back, I promise." Hiccup whispered. Aniu smiled and wrapped her arms and wings around him too.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup and his friends flew their dragons to Dragon Island, each of them were visibly upset. Nava decided to ride on Arrow's back and Aniu rode on Firesnow. The Rider Dragon Hatchlings were on a ship below them. Once the riders landed, they took their saddles off their dragons. Once the boat anchored down, the hatchlings leapt off and ran up to their parents.

"I'm gonna miss you guys." Astrid and Nava said, giving each of the five Deadly Nadders a hug. Ruffnut and Tuffnut made sure every one of the three Hideous Zippleback's heads a hug. Ruffnut sniffled as she hugged Boomer and Banger. The young Zippleback crooned and nuzzled his heads into her shoulders.

Fishlegs grunted as he placed another stone onto a pile of rocks for the four Gronckles. "Okay, you guys. There's plenty of rocks if you get hungry." Fishlegs sniffled and took Meatlug's saddle off her back. "And Meatlug, don't eat any limestone. You know it doesn't agree with you." Almost sobbing, he walked away, knowing if he stayed any longer, it'll be too painful to say goodbye. Meatlug whimpered sadly and collapsed onto the attempted to comfort his mate while Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie cuddled their mother.

"Be strong, guys. I know you lot are going to miss me." Snotlout said to Hookfang, Firesnow, Ignitis and Infernia. Then the four Monstrous Nightmares were distracted by a flock of birds and chased after them. "Okay. They're crying. They're crying on the inside." Snotlout said, his voice shaky.

Hiccup slowly took Toothless's saddle off the Night Fury's back and both he and Aniu gently scratched Toothless behind the ears. "We'll be back for you. We promise." Hiccup said to his dragon. The two teens walked away and Toothless followed. "No, Toothless. You have got to stay here and take care of the other dragons." Aniu said firmly. Toothless stared at them with big, round, sad eyes. "It's gonna be okay, Toothless. Trust us." Hiccup said, holding out a hand. Toothless crooned sadly and placed his snout into Hiccup's hand. Unable to help themselves, Hiccup and Aniu gave Toothless a hug. Hiccup gently put Toothless's saddle under a rock and both he and Aniu walked back to the ship. Toothless and the other dragons sadly watched them go. All the hatchlings looked like they were going to start crying.

On the boat, the Dragon Trainers stared miserably at the place where they had left their dragons. Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava leaned sadly against the wooden mast. "There's something Mildew said that I can't stop thinking about." Hiccup told them. "And what's that?" Nava asked. "He said "See what happens when you leave your dragon alone to wait outside."" Hiccup said. "He knew Toothless wasn't with me just before the Armory fire."

"Yeah, plus Mildew was always at the scenes of the crimes." Nava said. "Mildew must've put a dead fish in one of the boots and lured Barf and Belch to the arena." Aniu said. "So..." Astrid said slowly. "So he lives way out from the village. What was he doing in town and how would he know where we were before the fire?" Hiccup asked.

"You really think he set that fire?" Astrid asked. "I think he did all of it and I think he did it so my dad would get rid of all the dragons.' Hiccup said. "That's a pretty serious accusation." Astrid said after thinking about it. How are you gonna prove it?" Hiccup thought about it and when they got back to Berk, he and Aniu started fixing Mildew's roof. They waited until Mildew and Fungus were long gone.

After hammering in some wooden planks and nails, the two teens decided to drop into Mildew's house (quite literally considering the fact that the roof had a huge hole in it. Hiccup uncoiled a length of rope and slid down it into the house. Aniu turned into her Barn Owl form and flew inside.

Looking around, they saw that Mildew had decorated his house with dragon heads, weapons and pictures of himself slaying dragons. Then they noticed four shields depicting pictures of three, huge and very ugly Viking women and Fungus.

"Wife, wife, wife." Hiccup said, looking at the three women, their pictures were marked with Xs, showing that they were dead. "Well, Mildew has a type." Aniu said, grimacing at the pictures. Hiccup saw a pot hanging off a hook, opened it and sniffed, only to nearly lose his lunch. It was probably Mildew's food or washing.

Aniu noticed a dragon's paw sticking out from under a curtain. "Hey, Hiccup. You better come and see this." She called out. Hiccup hurried over and pulled back the curtain. Both of them gasped, they saw a pair of boots designed to look like Hideous Zippleback feet and a stick with four Monstrous Nightmare claws on the end of it.

Hiccup picked them up to get a better look but the door rattled, letting the two teens know that Mildew was back. Aniu quickly flew up through the hole in the roof and Hiccup scrambled up the rope, but didn't get to the hole in time before the door slammed open and Mildew and Fungus walked inside.

"I'm home, ladies!" Mildew announced to the pictures on the shields. Aniu was starting to believe that Mildew was a bit senile. "Did yah miss me? Oh, what did you say? Nothing? Perfect." Then Mildew noticed the curtain which the dragon boots and claws were kept. Luckily, Hiccup managed to put them exactly where they had been before climbing up the rope.

Mildew picked them up. "Ah, these served us well, didn't they, Fungus?" Mildew asked. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone found them. "Shame we have to get rid of them." Hiccup (while to what Mildew was saying) felt a drop of sweat fall off his face and saw it land on Fungus's head. The sheep looked up, saw him and bleated.

Mildew walked outside, carrying the evidence Hiccup and Aniu needed to prove the dragon's innocence. Hiccup quickly pulled himself up the rope and clambered onto the roof. Together, he and Aniu watched Mildew throw the evidence into the ocean.

 **"** **Do you have someone you can trust with your life? If so, you don't know how lucky you are. You'll find life is much easier to deal with if you have that person by your side no matter what. I know I can always trust Toothless and Aniu with my life."**

 **I don't even know whether to say "/ his/ him, he, she, her, etc" or "their" when referring to a multiple-headed dragon.**

 **This chapter was 11 pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 15.09.2015 Australian Time**


	6. Alvin and the Outcasts

_"_ _Dragon's speaking"_

 _'_ _telepathical speaking'_

 _Thinking_

 **"** **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Remember readers, Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Trainers. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **Chapter 6: Alvin and the Outcasts**

 **"** **There's an old Viking saying: when your friends are roasting on the spit you're the one who feels the fire."**

Dragons flew around Dragon Island. But the former dragon residents of Berk were utterly miserable. Meatlug and her family lay on a pile of rocks, absolutely wishing they were back on Berk and with Fishlegs. Hookfang had gotten into another fight with Barf and Belch. Firesnow, Lefa and Rila were in no mood to break the fight up.

 _"_ _Break it up, you two!"_ Toothless roared at Hookfang, Barf and Belch. The Night Fury then ran over to the rock where Hiccup and Aniu had left his saddle and sniffed it. Hiccup and Aniu's scents were still on it. Then the black dragon ran up to the end of a ledge, staring into the sky.

* * *

 **"** **Mildew has made the entire village believe that dragons are too wild, too dangerous, that we all can't live together in peace. He's wrong, Aniu and I are going to prove it."**

Hiccup and Aniu stood on a sandy beach, staring up the sky until they heard a loud, frustrated groan. "Ohhhh, we've been here for hours and we haven't found anything." Snotlout complained. The Dragon Trainers (if they could call themselves that anymore) were looking around the beach, searching for the evidence that Mildew had thrown into the ocean.

"We've been here for ten minutes and you've done nothing but build...that." Hiccup said, gesturing at the pile of rocks and twigs Snotlout had used to build a 'sand castle'. "That is Snotlout Manor and all I need now is a queen." Snotlout said, looking flirtatiously at Astrid, who groaned.

Tuffnut let out a growl and began stomping on the so-called 'Snotlout Manor'. "What are you doing?" Snotlout wailed, running over to the destroying ruins of the 'sand castle'. "Storming the castle." Tuffnut said, much to his sister's delight.

"Come on, guys. I'm telling you. Mildew framed our dragons." Hiccup said. "Hiccup and I saw dragon feet in Mildew's house and we watched him throw them into the ocean." Aniu said. "I don't mean to be Norbert the Negative but the ocean is really, really vast." Fishlegs said. "Yeah, searching the entire ocean will take like a thousand years." Nava said.

"And our chances of finding those dragon feet are about as good as Snotlout and Astrid..." Fishlegs continued. "Don't go there." Astrid hissed at him. "Going nowhere." Fishlegs squeaked. "Look, Fishlegs is right. Even if mIldew threw them into the ocean they're not just gonna wash up on shore here." Astrid said.

"I found it!" Snotlout (who had been looking around) suddenly shouted. "Great!" Aniu exclaimed happily. "You were saying?" Hiccup asked his girlfriend as he ran past her. But Snotlout had found a small bludgeon instead of what they were looking for. "I haven't seen this since I was a baby." Snotlout said, using the bludgeon to club himself on the head. "You never forget your first bludgeon." He gently hugged the toy bludgeon. "Just keep looking." Hiccup and Aniu groaned at the other teens.

* * *

In the forge, Gobber grunted as he hammered out an axe. "One down, 345 to go." He said once he finished. Stoick (who was watching him along with Fengo and Namara) sighed. "Can't you do that any faster." Stoick asked. "Until you restock our weapons, we're almost completely defenceless."

"Maybe you should've thought about that before sending the dragons away." Gobber told him. "You know I had no choice. They destroyed the Armory." Stoick replied. "You think they destroyed the Armory." Namara said, arm folded across her chest. "This would be a bad time to get attacked." Gobber said. "I know, Gobber." Stoick said. "Not that there's ever a good time but this would be particularly bad." Gobber continued. "I know, Gobber." Stoick repeated. "Especially by Alvin the Treacherous. Our oldest and most feared enemy. Who'd kill us all to take Berk for his own." Gobber said.

"I got it, Gobber!" Stoick snapped. "Alvin the Treacherous." He hissed. "Who is this Alvin the Treacherous?" Fengo asked. "And why is he so bad?" Namara asked. "Alvin and his Outcasts have been our number one human enemy ever since years before you two, Aniu and Nava moved to Berk. And there's a reason why he has 'Treacherous' as his title." Stoick told them. Fengo and Namara glanced at each other nervously. "This Alvin guy sounds pretty bad." Fengo said to his wife. "I hope he doesn't go near any of the teens." Namara said.

* * *

On a barren land known as Outcast Island, Alvin the Treacherous watched dozens of wild dragons burn and destroy everything they saw, be it Viking or building. He was rounder than Stoick and had dark eyes, hair and beard. He wore the typical clothing for members of the Outcast Tribe with a few differences to show his chiefly status.

"Alvin! They're coming back!" Savage (his second-in-command) shouted. "Outta me way!" Alovin snarled, shoving two of his soldiers aside. "Yah can't find good marauders anywhere these days." Flipping a transportable catapult onto its supports with small effort, he placed a boulder into the spoon-shaped end and shot down a Monstrous Nightmare.

"Alvin! There are too many of them! We need to get inside!" Savage told him. Glaring at two Monstrous Nightmares who were flying at him to avenge their comrade, Alvin turned and walked into Outcast Island's Great Hall which was hardly more than a building made out of volcanic rock. Savage barely managed to shut the metal doors and blockade them before the two dragon's flames hit it.

"I had it with these dragons. Is the ship ready?" Alvin growled at his men. "We still have a little more work to do." Savage said. "That's not my problem, is it? We sail for Berk immediately." Alvin said, jabbing his finger at the picture of Berk on his map. "We'll land here under the cover of night."

"Why aren't we taking the whole army?" Savage asked in confusion. "We're not there to fight Stoick. We're there for two men: The Dragon Conqueror and his guardian friend." Alvin told him. "Oh, you'll have them. We hear the Dragon Conqueror's able to conquer any dragon in the world and his guardian friend is able to destroy an entire armada of ships with one single fireball." Savage said. ( **Author's note:** Rumours tend to change a lot when told. Just play a game of Chinese Whispers and you'll understand. You'll be surprised at how different your rumour is once you finished the game.)"Well, they shouldn't be too hard to find then, should they?" Alvin asked.

* * *

(Back on Berk in the Haddock house:

"We're telling you, Aniu and I saw a pair of Zippleback feet and Monstrous Nightmare claws in Mildew's house. He must've used them to make the footprints of the dragon who supposedly stole the boots." Hiccup said. "And he most likely used the Monstrous Nightmare claws to damage the Great Hall." Aniu said.

"Well, then. Let's go have a look at them." Stoick said. "Yeah, um, there's gonna be a problem with that." Hiccup stammered. "We saw Mildew throw them into the ocean." Aniu admitted. "I know you are upset about the dragons, you two but you're going to need evidence to accuse a man of high treason." Stoick said. Hiccup and Aniu sighed.

Late in the afternoon, Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava walked onto a high ledge away from the village overlooking the ocean. "Guys, we will prove Mildew did it. We have to if we want to see our dragons again." Hiccup said in determination. "I just hope they're okay." Astrid said. "They will be, Astrid. Knowing Toothless, he's a pretty tough dragon and will defend his friends to his last breath." Aniu said confidently. "Knowing Stormfly, she will kick the tails of anything that tries to harm anyone she cares about." Nava said.

Upon seeing that Astrid was still looking miserable, Hiccup gave her a hug. "We'll get them back, Astrid. I promise you that." Hiccup whispered before kissing Astrid on the lips. Astrid's ice blue eyes widened in surprise but she leaned into the kiss. After a few seconds, Hiccup and Astrid parted only to see Aniu and Nava kissing with their wings wrapped around each other.

Hiccup cleared his throat to catch their attention. "Lovebirds!" Astrid exclaimed, smirking. Aniu and Nava jumped apart, both blushing bright red in embarrassment. Hiccup and Astrid snickered at them before Astrid noticed something out on the ocean. Walking up to the edge of the ledge, Astrid saw a ship anchored to a sea stack.

"Why would one of our ships be anchoring there?" Astrid asked, pointing at the ship. "I see them too." Aniu said. Hiccup and Nava both took out sky glasses to get better look. They saw the ship had a dragon's skull as a figurehead and the boat was heavily armoured. A smaller boat with people inside it was sailing towards Berk village. Nava's sapphire blue eyes stared at the ship. "I don't recognise that symbol on the sail." He said. "That's not one of our ships." Hiccup realized. "We gotta tell my Dad!" The four teens ran back to the village.

* * *

Alvin grunted as he leapt off the boat onto Berk's beach at nightfall. "Ah, it's good to be back on the shores of Berk." He sighed. "Good for you. Not so good for them." Savage chuckled. "Let's find this Dragon Conqueror and his guardian friend." Alvin ordered. The Outcasts began their way to the village.

* * *

In the Great Hall, Vikings were yelling at each other in a panic. "This is no time to panic! That's what the Outcasts are counting on!" Stoick yelled over the noise. Gobber, Fengo and Namra stood beside him as always. "Stoick!" A Viking called out, running into the Hall. "Sven! Did you get a count?" Stoick asked. "I saw 30 men at least, all armed to the teeth." Sven reported grimly.

"Without any weapons, we'll never be able to fight them head on." Gobber said. "No weapons! And Outcasts on our shores! All thanks to your boy, his guardian friend and their dragons!" Mildew wailed, clutching at his heart dramatically.

"I don't have time for this, Mildew." Stoick snapped. "So why don't you just be quiet." Fengo said. Mildew glared at him. "Mulch! You and Bucket gather up the elders and the children. Get them to Thor's beach. They'll be safe in the caves there." Stoick ordered. Mulch and Bucket nodded and ran off to do their tasks.

"We can help fight! We've been trained as warriors." Astrid said, Snotlout and Nava right behind her. "She and Nava may have been trained but I was born a warrior." Snotlout said arrogantly. "Take this. It was Alvin's." Stoick said, giving Astrid an old, battered hatchet with the Outcast symbol stamped on it. Snotlout eagerly reached out for it and looked disappointed when it wasn't handed to him. "But go with the others. You can help protect them." Astrid and Nava nodded and left, Snotlout followed them looking sulky.

"Let me and Aniu go get the dragons. "At least if we have them, Dad, we can defend ourselves." Hiccup said. Aniu stood beside him. Stoick sighed. "Go. But be careful. You two don't know what Alvin is capable of." He said. "Good luck, you two." Namara told them. Hiccup and Aniu nodded and left.

"The rest of you, we'll head to the woods. Nobody knows that forest like we do." Stoick said. "And when Alvin comes looking for us there, he'll walk right into our trap." Gobber said confidently.

* * *

Namara decided to fly out and scout out Alvin's soldiers. Stoick had orders her to do this because he wanted to know where Alvin's soldiers were and where they were going. She saw Fishlegs sitting on a ledge overlooking the ocean. "Oh, Meatlug, Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie. I miss you." Fishlegs sighed miserably. "The moon is full. My heart is empty. What rhymes with empty?" Fishlegs was so busy lamenting he didn't notice Alvin walking up behind him, followed by some of his soldiers. "Don't waste your time." Alvin sneered.

Fishlegs froze and very slowly turned around. "Nothin' rhymes with empty." Alvin grabbed the front of Fishlegs's tunic and held him off the ground. "Who's the Dragon Conqueror and his guardian friend?" Alvin asked. Fishlegs (while whimpering in fear) did the only thing he could think of: scream very loudly. Alvin, hisOutcasts and Namara winced at the loud sound and Alvin threw Fishlegs off the cliff into the ocean.

Namara waited until Alvin and his Outcasts were gone before diving down, turning into her dragon form, grabbing Fishlegs in her talons and flying back up to the ledge. "Are you all right, Fishlegs?" Namara asked in concern. "Yeah, I'm alright." Fishlegs gasped, sitting up. "Just a little panicky but I'll be fine. You go ahead and do whatever you were doing." Namara nodded and flew away.

* * *

Hiccup and Aniu ran down the docks hoping to find a place where they could fly away without any Outcast noticing. Their plan was simple: once they found a good place to fly away without any Outcast noticing, Aniu would turn into her dragon form and Hiccup would climb onto her back. Then, Aniu would fly to Dragon Island with Hiccup riding on her back so they could gather up the Berkian dragons and then return to Berk where the dragons, guardians and Berkians would fight off the Outcasts and send them running back to their island.

But so far, their plan wasn't working because a boat full of Outcasts was anchoring at the docks. Running back into the village, Hiccup and Aniu saw a group of Outcasts walking towards them, but they didn't seem to have noticed the two teens yet. Hiccup and Aniu turned around only to see another group of Outcasts heading their way. The two teens threw themselves under a house and watched the Outcasts walk past them. "Empty. Keep looking." One of them said. Them, Hiccup and Aniu heard shivering and turned around to see...

"Ahh! Fishlegs." They both yelped as quietly as they could. "Alvin's looking for you two. He's looking for the 'Dragon Conqueror and his guardian friend'."Fishlegs told them. Hiccup and Aniu glanced at each other nervously.

* * *

Alvin chuckled as he strode through the wreckage of the Armoury. "Looks like Stoick isn't as armed as we anticipated." He said, picking up poor Prudence. "From the looks of the Armoury, he's not armed at all." Savage cackled. Noticing the Haddock house up ahead, they walked towards the building until they arrived outside the door.

"Should I knock?" Alvin asked. "I mean, what's the etiquette in these situations?" Instead of waiting for an answer, Alvin kicked the door down. "I think that seems about right. Stoick, show yah face!" But the Haddock house was empty. "The old coward's turned and ran." Alvin said. Another Outcast soldier ran up to him. "I spotted fresh tracks leading into the forest and I heard reports of a big guy with a bucket on his head heading down to the beach." The soldier reported.

"We'll split up, then. You four go into the woods." Alvin said. The four Outcast soldiers nodded and ran off. "Where are we going?" Savage asked him. 'We'll go to the beach. How many hostages do yah think a dragon conqueror and his guardian friend are worth?" Alvin asked. "Eleven. No wait, twelve." Savage said. As they left, the Outcasts didn't know that Hiccup, Aniu and Fishlegs were hiding beside the house, listening. "What do we do now?" Fishlegs asked in a low voice. "Go to the woods and warn my father. Aniu and I need to get ahead of Alvin and warn Mulch and the others." Hiccup said. "Be careful, Fishlegs. Alvin looks and sounds pretty nasty." Aniu said. Fishlegs nodded and ran into the forest. "Come on, Ni." Hiccup said. Aniu nodded and followed Hiccup.

* * *

In another part of the forest, Stoick, Gobber, Fengo, Namara and a couple of other Vikings discussed their plan. "When they come looking for us in the forest, they'll have to come through her." Gobber said. "All right, what weapons do we have?" Stoick asked. "Two frying pans, a rolling pin and a kitchen knife." Gobber said. "The frying pans might be useful, but I don't know about the rolling pin and the kitchen knife." Namara said, her wings twitching as she stared at the so called weapons.

"And what are we gonna do when we find Alvin? Bake him a cake!"Stoick asked. "Well, a pie would be nice, too. Who doesn't like pie?" Gobber asked, picking up the kitchen knife. "I only like cottage pie, sorry." Fengo said. **(I wanted to add the cottage pie bit in just for fun. I know it wasn't around in those times)** Gobber threw the sharp kitchen knife at a tree, splitting the tree in half. "That could be useful." Gobber said, retrieving his kitchen knife. "I still have my doubts about the rolling pin though." Namara said.

* * *

"Hurry down. The cave is just up ahead." Mulch said as he led the elders and the children to the cave at Thor's Beach. "Where's Bucket?" He asked when he noticed the absence of one certain Viking. "He went back to get my lamby." A little girl said innocently.

"Oh, for the love of...why am I always looking for Bucket? Why can't...? Bucket!" Mulch grumbled as he went looking for his friend. "It's like trying to keep track of a half-wit pig." He gasped when a twig snapped and Bucket appeared, holding a stuffed doll over his shoulder.

"Oh, Bucket. You had one job. Bring up the rear." Mulch sighed. "But the little girl. You should've seen her face. Big blue eyes with the tears welling up." Bucket said. "Ah, yah bucket's hard but your heart is soft. Come on." Mulch groaned. But as they turned around, they found themselves surrounded by Outcast soldiers.

"You made it easy for us, Bucket." Alvin said, walking up behind them. "It's hard to miss a half-wit and his lamb." The Outcast soldiers laughed and led Bucket and Mulch away at spear point. Hiccup and Aniu hid behind some trees and saw what happened.

* * *

In another part of the forest, another group of Outcasts saw a Berkian Viking. "There he is, get him!" One of them yelled. "Oh, you lousy Outcasts!" Gobber shouted as he ran. "You'll never take me alive!" He leapt off a small cliff, still being pursued by the Outcast soldiers and arrived at a dead end.

"Ah, look like you've got me, boys." Gobber said, feigning defeat. "Come on, get him!" One outcast soldier yelled. Stoick charged out of a nearby bush and knocked a soldier unconscious with a fist to the face. Fengo and Namara used their physical abilities and magic to take down the soldiers. Phlegma the Fierce threw a bola at an Outcast's legs and Gobber knocked the guy unconscious. Stoick took down the rest of them.

"Or maybe it's we who got you." Gobber said. Then they heard a rustling in the bushes "That way, over there." Stoick whispered. Namara, Gobber, Phlegma and the other Berkian hid in the bushes while Stoick and Fengo ran towards the cause of the rustling. Fengo turned into his wolf form (deep brown fur, white undersides, forest green eyes) and tackled the mysterious figure to the ground. Stoick ran up behind him and prepared to punch the figure only to see it was... "Stoick, Fengo, no!" Fishlegs yelled.

"For the love of the gods, Fishlegs, we could've killed you!" Fengo snapped, getting off the boy. "Thank you two for not killing me." Fishlegs gasped out. "What are you doing here?" Stoick asked. "Alvin the Treacherous grabbed me. He looked really treacherous." Fishlegs said. "We know they're here, Fishlegs." Stoick said. "Yeah. They're here for Hiccup and Aniu." Fishlegs told them. "Hiccup."/ "Aniu." Stoick and Fengo whispered in fear for their respective son and daughter. "Why do they get into so much trouble all the time?" Fengo asked himself, holding a paw to his head.

* * *

But down at Thor's Beach, Alvin and his Outcasts had managed to capture the Berkians sheltering there. The Outcast soldiers were watching them to ensure they didn't try anything. "For those of you who haven't figured it out, I am the one and only Alvin the Treacherous." Alvin announced, standing on a rock platform. "And let me be clear, that name was earned."

"'Alvin'? How did he earn that?" Tuffnut scoffed. "Your leader has abandoned you." Alvin told the Berkians but they knew Stoick would never abandon them. "But Stoick doesn't concern me. I'm not here for him. I want the Dragon Conqueror and his guardian friend."

"Say goodbye to Hiccup and Aniu." Mildew whispered into Astrid and Nava's ears. Nava had retracted his wings into his back but he forgot about his pointed ears and he hoped the Outcasts wouldn't notice his silvery-blonde hair as it wasn't a normal hair colour in the Viking world. His sapphire blue eyes were brighter than a human's eyes so they might be bit of a problem if the Outcasts noticed but the soldier's attention was on their leader. "Alvin!" Mildew called out but Astrid hit him hard under the chin, knocking him out cold and he fell into Astrid's arms. Alvin and his soldiers looked at them suspiciously. "My grandfather's frail. He needs his nap." Astrid said sweetly.

As soon as the Outcasts turned their attention away from her, Astrid promptly dropped onto the ground, wiping her hands on her blue shirt in disgust. "Well, like I said, tell me who the dragon conqueror and his guardian friend is and you can all go free." Alvin said. "Conqueror? Come on." Snotlout said arrogantly, pulling his bludgeon toy out of his belt. "I'll show Alvin who is a conqueror."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut nodded in agreement and Snotlout ran up some rocks behind Alvin who heard his footsteps and spun around to look at him. Snotlout nearly fainted. "For you, sir." Snotlout practically squeaked, giving Alvin his toy bludgeon. Ruffnut shook her head and Tuffnut facepalmed. "Well, you better check your trousers, son. I think you've soiled yourself." Alvin said, shoving Snotlout aside.

Astrid had enough and threw the hatchet Stoick had given her at Alvin. It spiralled through the air but Alvin, heard it, saw it and caught it in his hand. "Hey! Would you look at that. My old hatchet. I was wondering when I'd get it back." Alvin said. Astrid was grabbed by Savage and shoved onto the platform where Alvin was standing.

"Trying to kill Alvin the Treacherous?" Alvin sneered. "You're not as smart as you look." Astrid simply glared at him. "Tell me, who's your dragon conqueror and his guardian friend? Tell me." He grabbed Astrid's braided ponytail and harshly pulled on it, making Astrid gasp in pain.

"Leave her alone." Hiccup ordered, appearing out his and Aniu's hiding place where they had been listening to and watching the proceedings. Aniu came out beside him. "Hiccup! Aniu! What are you doing?" Astrid asked them. Hiccup and Aniu jumped down onto the rock platform. "I'm the dragon conqueror and this is my guardian friend." Hiccup said, gesturing to himself and Aniu.

Alvin and his Outcasts laughed at them. "You? Stoick's little embarrassment?" Alvin asked, pointing at Hiccup. "Aniu and I drove the dragons from Berk. Look around. "You don't see any on this island, do you?" Hiccup asked. Alvin glanced around, come to think of it, he did not see one dragon at all on Berk.

Aniu nodded at Astrid who caught onto her and Hiccup's plan and nodded back. "I-it's true. All the dragons are afraid of them. They even conquered a Night Fury." Astrid stammered. Alvin glanced at her suspiciously. "You two are bluffing." He hissed in Hiccup and Aniu's faces. "Are we? Well, there's only one way to find out. Take Aniu and I to Dragon Island." Hiccup said. Alvin stared at him and Aniu suspiciously.

* * *

Once they were aboard the Outcast ship, Alvin told his men to keep a close eye on the two teens. One Outcast soldier strolled up to Aniu and pushed Hiccup aside. "Well, you're pretty powerful, aren't yah?" The soldier asked Aniu. "What's it to you?" Aniu asked him rudely. "Just think of how powerful the Outcast tribe will be if we had an very powerful guardian like you as our weapon." The soldier said, he harshly grabbed Aniu's wing, causing her to gasp in pain. "Leave her alone!" Hiccup yelled, running up, knocking the Outcast aside and standing in front of Aniu with his dagger held out in front of him.

"Oi! I told yah to keep an eye on them, not rile them up!" Alvin shouted. The Outcast soldier slunk away. "But Alvin, think of the things we could do if we had a guardian like her (he pointed at Aniu)as our weapon." The Outcast soldier said. Alvin thought it out and decided that the soldier might have a point.

* * *

Back on Thor's Beach, the remaining Outcasts were still guarding the Berkian prisoners until one of them was grabbed from behind and dragged out of sight. Gobber hit another one with his hook-hand while Fengo and Namara used ice and earth magic respectively to take down their opponents. Stoick knocked another Outcast off a ledge, jumped off and landed on top of the Outcast.

"Where's Alvin?" Stoick asked him. The Outcast soldier spat at him. Angered, Stoick grabbed the front of the man's tunic and prepared to punch his lights out when Astrid and Nava ran up to him. "Alvin took Hiccup and Aniu." Both teens said. "What?" Stoick, Fengo and Namara asked in shock. "They gave themselves up." Astrid said. "They're on their way to Dragon Island." Nava told them. Stoick looked down, formulating a plan in his head.

* * *

The next morning, the Outcast ship sailed through the fog that surrounded Dragon Island. Alvin walked towards Hiccup and Aniu. "I'm sure Stoick's told you plenty about your island's most feared enemy." Alvin said. "Who's that? Oh right, you. No, not so much.' Hiccup said. "I barely knew about you guys until yesterday." Aniu said nonchalantly.

"Really? Not a word?" Alvin asked. "Nope." Hiccup said. "Nothing about Alvin?" Alvin asked. "Nope." Aniu said. Realizing that his prisoners were just messing with him, Alvin growled in anger. "Look, Al. All Aniu and I care about is that if we do what we say, you will leave the people of Berk in peace." Hiccup said. "On me word, son." Alvin agreed, but Hiccup and Aniu knew Alvin most likely wouldn't keep his promise.

* * *

Meanwhile, Stoick, Gobber , Fengo, Namara, the Dragon Trainers and some other Vikings had gotten a ship ready and were sailing in pursuit of the Outcasts. The Dragon Trainers were helping the other Vikings move some catapults into position. "When we get there, we'll lay down cover fire with these catapults." Stoick said. "Astrid, Nava, you two get the dragons." Astrid and Nava nodded in agreement.

"No. Save your cover fire for the others, sir. I can handle myself." Snotlout said arrogantly, accidently putting his hand on a catapult's lever causing it to activate and fire a boulder into the ocean. "I'll fire extra rounds to cover that one." Gobber sighed. Namara used earth magic to create round boulder for the catapult and put it in. "You don't have to, Gobber." Namara said, patting the boulder.

"Sir, we'd like to personally volunteer to kick Alvin's backside." Tuffnut said. Ruffnut smirked and punched her fist into her open palm. "This isn't about Alvin. It's about Hiccup and Aniu. We're here to bring them home." Stoick said. "If Alvin or his Outcasts have harmed one hair on my daughter's head, I'm gonna murder them." Fengo hissed. "I agree." Namara said.

* * *

The Outcast ship docked on Dragon Island and its passengers disembarked. Alvin had his soldiers point their loaded crossbows at Hiccup and Aniu while he walked behind them in case they tried to escape. "Hey, is the sword really necessary?" Hiccup asked Alvin when the Outcast prodded him in the back with his weapon.

"Odin's ghost." Alvin gasped when Toothless flew out of the hole in the mountainside the Red Death made when she crashed through. "Is that a ...?" Alvin asked in disbelief."Night Fury." Hiccup said. "The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself." Aniu quoted. _So-called._ She thought.

Behind them, Alvin's men raised their crossbows. "Put those away!" Aniu snapped at them. "Whoa, stop! Please, it will only make him angrier." Hiccup said. "Watch and learn." Aniu said. "Well, by all means, proceed." Alvin said. Sneering, he turned to his men. "I hope you're not screamish. You're about to see a dragon eat a boy and a guardian. The Outcasts smirked. Hiccup and Aniu ignored and continued walking towards Toothless, who pounced on them as soon as they were close enough.

"Whoa!" The Outcasts exclaimed. Toothless licked both Hiccup and Aniu across their faces. _"Hiccup! Aniu! I'm so glad to see you alive and well. But I'm not glad to see you in the presence of these men."_ Toothless glancing at the Outcasts. _'They're from the Outcast Tribe and they want to make Hiccup and I train dragons for them so they can use the dragons to conquer other places.'_ Aniu quickly explained mentally. _"Well, I'm not gonna let them."_ Toothless growled.

"I missed you too, bud. We'll catch up later. Right now, follow our leads." Hiccup said, pushing Toothless off him and Aniu. "You cannot defeat me!" Hiccup exclaimed, pretending to attack Toothless, but was actually driving him to the place where he put his Night Fury's saddle. "You dirty dragon!" Aniu exclaimed, then winced at how bad her acting skills were. "I am the Dragon Conqueror!" Hiccup exclaimed, putting the saddle on his dragon's back while Toothless blocked him and Aniu from the Outcast men's sight with his large wings.

"Hey, what are you two doing with that dragon?" Alvin yelled, when he noticed something was off. Hiccup clicked his prosthetic into Toothless's prosthetic tailfin controller stirrup and Toothless slowly turned around, revealing Hiccup to be sitting on his saddle. Aniu leapt over Toothless's wings and turned into her Fury dragon/ Monstrous Nightmare dragon form. The Outcasts gasped at this.

"By the way, It's not really 'the Dragon Conqueror and his guardian friend'.It's 'the Dragon Trainer and his guardian friend'." Hiccup said. "Now." He hissed at Toothless and Aniu. Both of them flew up into the sky. Alvin growled and swung at them with his sword but it narrowly missed Toothless's abdomen. "Great thunder of Thor." Alvin gasped. "The boy is the Dragon Conqueror! Fire!"

The Outcasts still onboard the ship quickly fired three boulders from catapults at Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu. "Look out!" Hiccup yelled and his two friends barely dodged them. "What are you waiting for? Shoot them down!" Alvin snarled, leaping on board the ship. Three Outcasts grabbed their crossbows and fire arrows at Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless.

Hiccup and Toothless stared at the arrows flying towards them but the projectiles were vanquished by a blast of fire. "Ah, what took you so long?" Hiccup asked Astrid, who was riding on Stormfly's back. The other dragon riders were successful at getting their dragons. Arrow, Firesnow, Clobbertail, Lefa and Rila stayed behind to take care of the hatchlings. "Why? Did yah miss me?" Astrid asked. "More than you'll ever know." Hiccup smiled at her. Astrid smiled back at him.

Aniu stared at the arrows flying at her only to see the projectiles being vanquished by another blast of fire. "Ah, what took you so long?" She asked Nava, who was flying beside her in his dragon form. "Why? Did yah miss me?" He asked. "More than you'll ever know."Aniu smiled at him. Nava smiled back at her. _"Now, come on. We've got a bunch of ugly, nasty Outcasts to defeat."_ Stormfly said.

Toothless, Stormfly, Aniu and Nava performed loop-de-loops to avoid a bunch of catapult boulders and saw the Berkian ship nearing the Outcast ship. "We've gotta get in closer!" Hiccup yelled. "Aim for their catapults!" Stoick shouted. "I we knock them out the dragons can finish off the ship! Fire!" Boulders were fire at the Outcast ship, causing damage to the boat. "Move offshore!" Alvin ordered. His Outcasts hastened to obey.

"Here's our chance! Come on!" Hiccup yelled. The dragon riders, dragons and guardians flew down to the Outcast ship. Astrid and Stormfly flew past the Outcasts. "Oh, shoot that dragon down. Fire!" Alvin ordered. Savage quickly catapulted a boulder at the two. Stormfly noticed and quickly barrel-rolled. Astrid was unprepared and lost her grip on her Nadder's saddle. She fell off, bounced off a rope, hit the mast, landed on the wooden floor of the ship and a crate fell on top of her. "Astrid!" Hiccup, Nava and Aniu screamed.

Astrid knocked the crate off herself and (ignoring the pain from her bruised body) ran to the edge of the ship. "Hiccup! Nava! Aniu!" She screamed but Alvin grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the edge of the ship. "Welcome aboard, Astrid." He sneered. "Don't miss this time." The Outcasts fired arrows at the three who were flying towards them, hoping to rescue Astrid. "Look out!" Hiccup yelled and steered Toothless away.

"Hold your fire!" Hiccup yelled. "He's got Astrid!' Nava shouted. Snotlout misheard and had Hookfang fire at the Outcast ship. The fire blast hit the water and a cloud of steam rose up. "What are you doing?" Hiccup and Nava yelled at Snotlout. "I heard you say 'fire'!" The idiotic Jorgenson boy yelled at Hiccup. "I said 'hold your fire'!" Hiccup said. "See! You said it again." Snotlout said, completely mishearing it. "Alvin's got Astrid, you muttonhead!" Nava yelled him.

"No! He's right!" Stoick shouted, pointing at Snotlout who yelled "Thank you!" at him. "Fire again, Hiccup. All of you!" Stoick shouted. Then Hiccup, Aniu and Nava noticed the cloud of steam that had risen up in front of the Outcast ship. The Outcasts themselves were looking around, trying to see. "Everyone, fire into the water!" Hiccup ordered. Barf and Belch and Barf unleashed a cloud of gas, Meatlug spat out a lava blast, Hookfang breathed out fire, Aniu and Nava added their own fire breaths and Belch spat out sparks, igniting the gas, causing smoke and steam to cover the Outcast ship.

"I can't see." One Outcast murmured. Then they heard a roar and saw Toothless fly past them, but the Night Fury vanished into the fog. Aniu briefly showed herself before vanishing into the fog as well. "Fire!" Alvin yelled. "At what?" One Outcast asked. "Everything!" Alvin shouted, very much at the end of his patience. The Outcasts began randomly firing arrows into the fog, whenever they came close to the dragon riders and dragons, Aniu and Nava would use wind magic to deflect them.

"Did you hear that?"/ "What's that?" Outcasts began asking each other in a panic when they heard a creaking and it wasn't coming from their ship. Alvin saw a dragon's head emerge from the fog and threw his sword at it, only to realize it was actually a ship before it rammed into his ship, knocking everyone on board off balance. Astrid stood up, grabbed an oar, whacked Alvin on the head and stomach with it and ran to the highest point of the ship. Alvin regained himself and heard a baritone roar. Turning around, he saw Toothless flying at him, smirking. The Night Fury hit Alvin with his wing and flew away.

"Astrid, hop on." Hiccup ordered. Astrid leapt up and grabbed onto Toothless's front paws as he and his rider flew over her. Alvin heard a thud and turned around and Stoick punched him in the face, knocking him down. "You're a coward for taking my son and his friend." Stoick hissed. Fengo and Namara flew over to the Outcast ship and landed. "I take what I want, you know that, Stoick!" Alvin growled, throwing a fist, but Stoick grabbed it.

"Not this time." Stoick growled, swingin a fist at Alvin but the Outcast chief caught it. Fengo and Namara watched as the two men traded blows. After a few punches and kicks, Stoick managed to knock Alvin down but Alvin grabbed an anchor and swung it at Stoick who barely managed to dodge it. Alvin's next swing struck the mast, creating a gash in the wood.

Stoick put his foot down on the rope but Alvin tugged on it, pulling Stoick off his feet. Stoick dodged the anchor several times and Alvin's next swing caused the anchor to be caught in the wooden mast. Stoick grabbed the rope and tied Alvin's hands up with it. Stoick punched Alvin in the face again and the ship's figurehead fell off, taking Alvin with it and dragging him down into the water.

Stoick watched the water to make sure Alvin didn't surface again and pushed his ship away from the Outcast ship and leapt onboard the Berkian ship. Fengo and Namara flew up into the sky. "Now, Hiccup and Aniu! Burn the ship!" Stoick shouted. "Here we go, guys!" Hiccup shouted as Toothless flew to the Outcast ship. "Hit 'em with everything you've got!" Aniu yelled.

Screaming, the Outcasts leapt off their ship as Toothless struck it with a plasma blast, Aniu with a plasma blast and a burst of fire, Nava with Deadly Nadder flames and a burst of Monstrous Nightmare fire, Stormfly with her magnesium flames, Hookfang with his fire, Barf with his gas, Belch lit it with a spark and Meatlug finished off with a lava blast. The entire ship exploded.

Stoick, Fengo and Namara watched it happen and saw Toothless and Aniu flying overhead and landing on the Berkian returned to her human form. "Hiccup, Aniu, what were you thinking?" Stoick asked. "I was thinking, all Aniu and I had to was get to Toothless and together, the three of us would be able to make things right." Hiccup explained, dismounting Toothless. Stoick, Fengo and Namara turned around and stared at the rapidly sinking Outcast ship.

* * *

On the beach, Alvin and his Outcasts had managed to climb ashore and watched the dragons, their riders and guardians fly away. As he watched, Alvin started laughing. The Outcasts stared at him, wondering why their leader would laugh at a time like this. "They ride dragons." Alvin cackled. "We get that boy and the guardian girl and we'll ride dragons." His Outcast troops started laughing as well.

On Berk, the villagers started cheering when they saw the ship sailing and the dragons flying towards them. They were followed by a huge group of dragons. "Here they come!" A woman yelled. "You hear that, Toothless? Your back home." Hiccup said as the other dragon riders flew over the village on their dragons with Nava and Aniu leading them. _"It's good to be home."_ Toothless said. "Home Sweet Home, huh, Toothless?" Aniu asked. Toothless smiled and nodded at her.

Stoick and Gobber leapt onto the docks from the ship. "What are you cheering about? Don't you remember what these beasts have done?" Mildew asked loudly. "I do. They saved our lives." Stoick said, glaring at him. "Aniu and I may not be able to prove what you've done, but we'll never forget it." Hiccup said, following his father. Toothless and Aniu glared as they walked past him.

 **"** **It's funny how an attack by your greatest enemy can change things over night.**

The dragon riders, dragons and guardians walked up the docks into the village.

 **"** **Aniu and I set out to p[rove that our dragons would never hurt they proved is that they will always protect us.**

"DRAGONS! DRAGONS! DRAGONS!" The Berkians cheered.

 **Have any of you read the newest How To Train Your Dragon Book Franchise book? It's called How To Fight A Dragon's Fury. It's pretty good, actually. I think it's the last book in the franchise. And rumour has it that (Spoiler alert!) the last How to Train Your Dragon movie and this book will share their ends and explain why dragons no longer exist. This makes me pretty sad, but no one can have everything they want in life.'I watched the movie Oddball at the cinemas and it's very good with funny parts and good humour. My four year old niece watched it and she liked it but I think she wasn't paying attention. I'm hoping to see the Pan movie soon.**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: How to Pick Your Dragon**

 **This chapter was 12 pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 27.09. 2015 Australian Time**


	7. How to Pick Your Dragon

_"_ _Dragon's speaking"_

 _'_ _telepathical speaking'_

 _Thinking_

Spells

 **"** **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Remember readers, Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Trainers. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **Chapter 7: How to Pick Your Dragon**

A few days after the Outcast attack, a group of Vikings pulled a half-destroyed ship into the docks.

 **"** **Here on Berk, we've always done things one way: the Viking way."**

Stoick leapt off the half-destroyed ship and helped his men pull it onto the beach.

 **"** **Since the dragons came, the Viking way has become the hard way. Unfortunately, some people, like my father, still refuse to change."**

Toothless and Aniu flew down to the docks and landed. Hiccup hopped off Toothless's back and walked up to his father. Fengo and Namara were standing by, watching them. "It's that rogue dragon again." Gobber said. "That's the second boat this week he's destroyed."

Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless glanced at each other. "Well, we lost another whole catch. We could've saved it if we had gotten there sooner." Stoick said. "Well, I know how you could've gotten there sooner." Hiccup said. "Here we go again." Stoick groaned. Ever since they Outcasts had attacked, Hiccup had been begging him to get a dragon of his own.

"If you had flown there on a dragon, you could've been there in five minutes instead of two hours and you might have been able to chase that dragon away for good or found out why he's been attacking fishing boats." Aniu said. "As the chief of Berk, I do things the Viking way. Not the dragon way." Stoick told her.

"Well, the Viking way is costing us a lot of fish and almost as many boats." Hiccup said. "The boy's got a point. If you were on a dragon, you could protect this island from a lot of things, even Alvin." Gobber said. "Right. You could use a dragon to..." Hiccup said but he was interrupted by his father. "You're right, Gobber. Alvin knows we have dragons. He'll be back." Stoick said.

"You saw what those dragons did." Fengo said. "They had Alvin on the run." Namara told him. "Imagine if you were the one commanding them." Gobber said. "I'm listening." Stoick said. "But clearly not to me." Hiccup grumbled. "Or me." Aniu muttered. Hiccup put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Fengo and Namara looked at each other with smiles on their faces. Hiccup and Aniu were so protective and cared a lot about each other. "I can see it now. A proud chief ruling his domain aboard a fearsome, fire-breathing reptile. Ooh, gives me goosebumps just thinking about it." Gobber said grandly. "That's what Aniu and I have been trying to..." Hiccup began but his father interrupted him. "Gobber's right." Stoick said, turning to Hiccup and Aniu. "I need to get my own dragon. When do we start?"

"Well, obviously, you need to learn how to ride them while they fly." Aniu said. "I don't know. Shouldn't we ask Gobber?" Hiccup said. "Eh, I don't really have a preference, but sooner is always better, don't you think?" Gobber said. Hiccup stared at the two Vikings in disbelief while Aniu facepalmed and hoped that nothing would go wrong.

* * *

Sometime later, Hiccup, Toothless, Aniu, Stoick, Fengo and Namara stood on a sea stack connected by a bridge to the Dragon Training Academy. "All right, I made a new stirrup so you'll be able to control Toothless's tailfin." Hiccup said, kneeling beside his Night Fury and tinkering with a modified stirrup. "You hear that?" Stoick asked, pointing at Toothless."It's me who's supposed to be controlling you."

Toothless stared at him. "That's not how forming a bond with a dragon works, Stoick." Namara said. "Dragons don't like being controlled." Fengo said seriously. "Whoa, whoa, Dad. Before you get on a dragon, you gotta show him that he can trust you." Hiccup said, standing up. "He already trusts me. I'm his chief." Stoick said confidently. "That's not what he meant. A dragon won't just trust someone because they are a chief or some other kind of a leader." Aniu said.

"Uh, it's very simple. Just give me your hand." Hiccup said, deciding to get this over and done with. "I didn't come here to hold hands, Hiccup." Stoick said, annoyed. Hiccup grabbed his father's hand anyway and held it in front of Toothless. "It's okay, bud." Hiccup said gently. The Night Fury gently pressed his snout against Stoick's outstretched hand.

"You feel that?" Aniu asked hopefully. 'Yeah, still dry and scaly." Stoick said, taking his hand away. "Stoick still sometimes ignores the little things." Fengo sighed. "That's not what I meant." Hiccup said in disappointment. "Can I get on him now?" Stoick asked impatiently. Hiccup and Aniu smiled and gestured to Toothless. "All right, let's get on with this madness." Stoick grumbled once he and his son were sitting on Toothless's back.

Toothless grunted at their combined weight. He was completely used to Hiccup's weight but Stoick was just plain heavy. "We'll start out nice and slowly." Hiccup instructed. "Just give him a little nudge when you want to..." But instead of Stoick giving Toothless a gentle nudge, he kicked the black dragon in the side. Toothless yelped in alarm and shot up into the sky. Fengo, Namara and Aniu quickly followed. "Let's hope nothing bad happens." Namara said as she flapped her black, yellow, golden and white wings quickly to keep up with the Night Fury and his riders. "Stoick's is just too stubborn to listen properly sometimes." Fengo said, using his black, brown and white wings to fly up into the sky. "I'll be surprised when Stoick actually does listen." Aniu said, her black, brown, gold, blonde and white wings flapping as she flew beside her parents.

"I SAID NUDGE!" Hiccup screamed over the wind. "That was my nudge!" Stoick yelled. Toothless suddenly dived downwards. "Just remember, the tail controls everything." Hiccup reminded his father. "I know that." Stoick muttered. "Then why are you heading for that rock?" Hiccup asked when he noticed that they were straight at a sea stack rising out of the ocean.

"Because you're distracting me." Stoick growled. "Just let out the...!" Hiccup nearly panicked. "Tail! I know!" Stoick snapped, adjusting Toothless's prosthetic tailfin just in time. Toothless flew up, over the sea stack and down again.

"Why do I have a feeling that this is going to end well?" Fengo wondered out loud as Hiccup had to keep correcting his father whenever Stoick made a mistake. "Left! Left! No, the other left!" Hiccup yelled. "Dragon's fault." Stoick defended himself. "You're gonna blame that on the dragon too, Dad?" Hiccup asked after they nearly crashed into a sea stack. "Yep." Stoick said simply.

"Slow down!" Hiccup screamed. "I'm trying!" Stoick yelled, barely adjusting Toothless's prosthetic tailfin so that the Night Fury levelled himself out with his wings skimming the water. "See?" Stoick asked his son smugly. "Actually, no. I had my eyes closed." Hiccup said, leaning his face against his father's back.

Then the three noticed they were flying at a small beach on a small island. "You're coming into hard. Open the tailfin with your foot." Hiccup instructed once he noticed their predicament. "I'm opening the tailfin." Stoick snapped. "That's my leg, Dad." Hiccup told him. Because of the speed of their descent towards the beach, Toothless crash-landed, accidently throwing Hiccup and Stoick off him. The three yelped (or in Stoick's case) grunted in pain as they bounced across the ground.

Hiccup groaned and slowly rolled over onto his stomach and saw Toothless slowly staggering over to him. "I am so sorry." The boy whispered to his best dragon friend. Toothless growled and glared at him with a 'how could you do this to me' expression. Aniu and her parents landed and Aniu ran over to Hiccup. "Are you okay?" She asked, helping him up. "Yeah, I'm okay.' Hiccup said, dusting himself off.

Stoick got up, groaned and began walking away. "Dad, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked. "I'm done with this, Hiccup." Stoick growled. "I got a village to look after." He stopped when came face-to-face with a sheer rock wall and no visible way to get past it. "I'll need a ride home." Stoick sighed.

* * *

Moments later, Hiccup and Stoick were on Toothless's back (with Hiccup in front) and flying through the sky with Aniu, Fengo and Namara following them. Stoick noticed they weren't flying back to Berk and were going somewhere else entirely. "This isn't the way home.' He said grumpily. Toothless flew upwards, followed by the three guardians. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride. We are taking the scenic route." Hiccup announced. "Right now, my lunch is taking the scenic route into my throat." Stoick said.

Toothless, Aniu, Fengo and Namara flew past some cliffs while the two Vikings continued their conversation on Toothless's back. "Dad, just think about how much easier your chiefing will be on the back of a dragon." Hiccup said. "Just think about it, Stoick." Aniu said. "You'll be amazed at how much easier it is." Namara said. "It'll take most of the workload off your shoulders and leave you with less headaches and stress." Fengo said. "Well, I prefer to be down on the ground... wait, what's going on over there?" Stoick asked, looking down at the ground.

The other five followed his gaze and saw a paddock full of yak who were lying on their sides. They were mooing loudly for help and not getting up again. "Some genius has been yak-tipping again." Stoick grumbled. "Silent Sven isn't going to be happy." Namara sighed, flicking her golden hair over her shoulder to get it out of her face. Toothless, Aniu, Fengo and Namara flew down for a closer look then spotted two certain twin Vikings running around and hiding behind a cart. The Night Fury smirked then fired a plasma blast, blowing the cart up.

"Be quiet." Tuffnut Thorston whispered to his sister Ruffnut, thinking they hadn't been seen and that Toothless blew up the cart just for fun. "Maybe they don't see us." Ruffnut nodded in agreement. Stoick saw them and sighed. "Make that geniuses." He grumbled before raising his voice so the two trouble-makers way below could hear. "I want every one of those yaks back on its feet!" The Thorston twins stared up at them in shock. Seeing their chief on the back of a dragon wasn't something they saw every day.

"Nice chiefing, Dad. Let's see what else we can get done today." Hiccup congratulated. _"He had a little help from me of course."_ Toothless added proudly. Only Aniu and her parents could understand him and the three of them chuckled. They came across three boars eating cabbages in Mildew's cabbage field. Of course, Mildew being, well, Mildew would try to blame this on the dragons again. Apparently, the verbal tongue-lashing Aniu gave him _(that happened in chapter 5: In Dragons We Trust)_ wasn't enough and so Mildew continued his anti-dragon tirade. "Toothless, fire." Hiccup ordered. The Night Fury fired a plasma blast which landed in between the three boars, causing them to squeal and run away.

"Fire again, dragon." Stoick ordered. _"Why?"_ Toothless asked. "Dad, the boars are gone." Hiccup said. "Who cares? I like the sound it makes." Stoick said. "Take us up, bud." Hiccup said to his dragon then turned to his father. "There's something else I want you to see." Once they were up above the clouds, Stoick stared in amazement and awe at what he saw high up in the sky. Shooting stars streaked across the atmosphere and the clouds were orange and pink with the light of the setting sun. Then, when he saw Berk, the chief was even more amazed. "Whoa, I spent my entire life on Berk. Climbed its mountains and hills, explored its forests, swam its waters. I travelled to every part of the island that I could but I never thought I'd see it like this." Stoick said, awestruck.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hiccup asked softly. "No, it's more than that, Hiccup. Look at them." Stoick gestured to the village. "All of my people. Everyone is safe. It's a good feeling." Aniu flew up beside them. "I always feel a strong sense of freedom, excitement and joy whenever I fly." She said gently, smiling.

"You should see Berk from this high up at night time. It's just as spectacular." Aniu said. Then before she could stop herself, she added. "The first time Hiccup and I ever saw the night time view was when we went out on an unintentional romantic flight with Astrid and Nava the night before the ..arena disaster." Aniu then decided to fly with her parents and give Stoick and Hiccup some bonding time. "So, you and Astrid are getting pretty close, aren't yah?" Stoick asked his son. Hiccup blushed. "Well, we are taking our relationship rather slowly and don't want to rush into it, if that's what you mean. We usually hang out with Aniu, Nava, Toothless and Stormfly so that doesn't really classify as romantic. We're just best friends most of the time." Hiccup said. Stoick nodded and decided to leave it at that.

Meanwhile, Aniu was having a similar conversation with her parents. "So, you and Nava are getting closer and closer over time, aren't you?" Namara asked. Aniu blushed. "Well, we've been best friends since we were very young, haven't we?" She said. "I remember the time when you and Nava got lost in the forest and were chased by a pack of wild boars then saved by a Monstrous Nightmare who let you stay the night in his cave with his family. He said you and Nava slept curled around each other in your wolf forms. And the time when a series of thunderstorms were happening while your mother and I were on a trip. You said you spent an entire night awake because you couldn't go to sleep and were completely exhausted the next day. Nava noticed this and decided to help you out by sleeping beside you. It took a few nights until you were able to fall asleep all by yourself when there was a thunderstorm happening." Fengo said. Aniu smiled. "He said he used to sleep between his parents whenever there was a thunderstorm happening when he was young and when he was older, the thunderstorms never kept him awake anymore."Namara said.

Once they were done with their conversations, Hiccup, Stoick, Toothless, Aniu, Fengo and Namara flew back home.

* * *

Early next morning, Toothless flew over Berk. But his rider was not the one a person would expect it to be. In his room, Hiccup woke up, yawned and got out of bed. A bit surprised that Toothless didn't wake him up as he usually did basically every morning, Hiccup looked at his Night Fury's bed only to see that it empty. Aniu told him that Toothless sometimes took walks around the house, surrounding forest or village whenever he couldn't get to sleep but he was always back before dawn. Mildew most certainly didn't need to know that little piece of information. Who knew what he'll try to blame Toothless (and mostly likely the other dragons) with next? "Toothless?" He called. When he received no answer, he got up and gently threw a small pebble through Aniu's bedroom window.

There was a clatter as the pebble hit the wooden floor and seconds later, Aniu stuck her head out of her window. "What's wrong?" She asked tiredly. "Toothless is gone. I woke up and his bed was empty." Hiccup told her. "I'll meet you outside. Hopefully, he's just gone for a walk and didn't realize the time." Aniu said, leaving her window. Hiccup left his window, ran downstairs, opened the door and ran outside. When he and Aniu were outside, they were greeted by a surprising sight. Namely, Stoick riding on Toothless's back as the Night Fury flew around Berk.

"Dad?!"/ "Stoick?!" Hiccup and Aniu exclaimed in surprise. Toothless clumsily kept hitting roof tops with his wings, tail or paws as Stoick tried to control his tailfin. Astrid, Nava and Fishlegs were walking back to their houses, carrying buckets of water and looked up in surprise when they saw their chief riding Hiccup's Night Fury. "Is that...?" Astrid started to ask in shock. "Unexpected? Disturbing?" Fishlegs asked. "Something you don't see every day?" Nava supplied. "Yep." Astrid muttered.

After hitting a few more roof tops by accident, Toothless landed in front of his rider and Aniu, letting Stoick dismount him. "Uh, Dad. What are you doing with my dragon?" Hiccup asked. "Kicking butt and taking names, that's what." Stoick exclaimed happily. "Uh, on Toothless?" Hiccup asked, gesturing to his Night Fury. _"Help me."_ Toothless pleaded. Aniu sent him a sympathetic look. _'Stoick must be pretty heavy if you're acting like this.'_ Aniu said mentally. _"You have no idea."_ Toothless groaned. "Oh, we've all over Berk. Chiefing has never been so easy." Stoick said. "Yeah, but Dad. Toothless is my dragon." Hiccup said.

"You picked a good one. Just came back to get my hatchet. We're helping Spitelout break down a fence." Stoick said, marching inside the house. "Yeah. That's great. But you need to understand that Toothless is..." Hiccup told him. "Oh, you're right. I don't need my hatchet. Toothless can just blow that fence down with a fireball." Stoick laughed, walking back to Toothless. "Up, dragon." Stoick ordered once he was back on Toothless's saddle. The black Fury dragon sent Hiccup a pleading look. "Don't worry, bud. I can fix this." The boy said. _"You better do it as soon as you can."_ Toothless grumbled, flapping his wings and flying upwards. "So, we'll see you up there, Toothless. I really hope." Hiccup said. Aniu walked up beside him and nudged him with her wing. "If you need to fly somewhere, you can ride on me." She said, turning into her Fury dragon/ Monstrous Nightmare form. Hiccup nodded.

After breaking down the fence, Toothless and Stoick's first job was to chase some wild boars into the slaughter house where they'll be killed and turned into food. Gobber quickly closed the doors and a man shouted his thanks up to Stoick who nodded and flew away on Toothless's back. Sven the Guardsman was pulling a cart containing barrels full of mead and ale up to the Great Hall when the cart hit a bump on the ground, causing three of the barrels to fall off and roll down the hill. Stoick and Toothless appeared with Toothless carrying a barrel in his paws and Stoick holding the other two. Both of them dropped the barrels back into the cart. Next up: fishing. Stoick and Toothless flew over the ocean water where a school of fish were swimming. Toothless fired a plasma blast causing fish and water to fly up into the air. Stoick held an open fish basket and let the fish fall into it. Then, they flew back to Berk, dropped the basket of fish into the fish storage and landed in front of the Haddock house.

"Same time tomorrow, Toothless?" Stoick asked, dismounting the exhausted Night Fury. "You see that? That's what it looks like to be ridden all day by a 400 pound man." Hiccup said from where he, Astrid, Aniu, Nava and Stormfly were watching on the stairs leading up to the Great Hall. "At least you got your dad on a dragon." Astrid said. "Yeah, now I just to figure out how to get him off mine." Hiccup replied. "And find Stoick another dragon." Aniu said. "Why don't you just give him the old 'honey and the hatchet'?" Astrid said. Hiccup and Aniu stared at her. "You know, you tell him something he wants to hear, that's the honey part, before you hit him in the head with something he doesn't (she reached out and gently punched Hiccup's shoulder), you know, the hatchet." Astrid said. "Why does your advice always involve weapons?" Hiccup asked. Astrid simply her hand on her hip and smiled at her boyfriend. "That's just the way she is, Hiccup." Nava said before Astrid gently elbowed him in the side, causing him to 'oof'.

* * *

The next morning, Stoick walked through the house calling Toothless's name. Then Hiccup walked down the stairs. "Where's Toothless?" Stoick asked his son. Hiccup briefly glanced up at the rafters where Toothless was hiding and looked at his father. "Uh, I don't know. But you look great, Dad. Did you do something to your beard?" He stammered. "All right, you've given me the honey. Now just give me the hatchet." Stoick sighed.

"Look, Dad. You just can't keep taking Toothless. He's mine." Hiccup said, getting straight to the point. "All right, that seems fair. So find me one." Stoick said. "Uh, sorry?" Hiccup asked in confusion. "Find me a dragon as good as Toothless, that shouldn't be so hard for the head of the Berk Dragon Training Academy." Stoick told him. Hiccup sighed, hoping this wouldn't be too difficult.

* * *

Hiccup gathered the gang and told them to meet him in the Academy. "The finest dragon species on the island are all represented right here at this academy. " Hiccup said once everything was in place. The gang had brought Arrow, Firesnow, Clobbertail, Lefa and Rila with them and were using them as examples. Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch were with their kids in the back of the arena. _"Kids, behave yourselves."_ Stormfly said to Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet. _"Okay, Mum."_ The three young Deadly Nadders chirped. _"Ignitis, Infernia, I want you to pay attention."_ Hookfang told his son and daughter firmly. _"Okay, Dad."_ The two young Monstrous Nightmares said. _"Stonecruncher, Sweetiepie, stay still and stop moving around."_ Meatlug scolded her son and daughter. _"Sorry, Mum."_ The two young Gronckles said obediently. _"Boomer, Banger, stop headbutting each other."_ Barf and Belch told his son. _"Sorry, Dad."_ The young Hideous Zippleback said.

To start the show, Snotlout walked over to Stoick. "But the Monstrous Nightmare is the only one with the brawn and prestige for men of our stature. Hop on board" He bragged, gesturing towards Firesnow. Stoick went over to the blue, red and white dragon and gently climbed onto the female Monstrous Nightmare's neck. "Feel the Monstrous Nightmare difference. She may be blue, red and white but she's still got a lot of firepower in her." Snotlout said. _"You got that right."_ Hookfang said, smiling lovingly at his mate. "And on those winter nights, its whole body heats up, just enough to keep you cosy. Here, let me warm her up for you." Snotlout continued before gently tapping Firesnow on the snout causing her to heat her scales up.

But she accidently heated herself up a bit too much, causing Stoick to yelp in pain, hop off and run to the nearest water trough, throwing himself into it. "Now, should I put you down for one. They come in an assortment of colours." Snotlout said. Stoick glared at him. Next up: Astrid and Arrow. "Just because he's handsome and beautiful, people think he's not tough and deadly. But you should never underestimate me, uh, him, Stormfly and other Deadly Nadders" Astrid said, gesturing to the male Deadly Nadder at her side. The green and blonde dragon chirped and starting preening his wings. "Well, he is a handsome boy." Stoick said and did one thing a person hoping to bond with a Deadly Nadder must never do: put a hand on the Nadder's blind spot directly between the nostrils on the snout. "Be careful with the…!" Astrid exclaimed but it was too late. Arrow let out a startled chirp and shot some tailspines from his tail, framing Stoick against the wall with them.

"Monstrous Nightmare's looking a little better, now, huh, chief?" Snotlout asked, swaggering up to Stoick who yelled "Next!". Next up were Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Lefa and Rila. But unfortunately, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were busy fighting and the light blue and yellow female Hideous Zippleback decided to copy them. Lefa spat gas at her sister-head and Rila lit the gas with a spark, causing a small explosion to blow up in her faces, leaving both Zippleback heads dazed. "Next!" Stoick yelled, not impressed by this.

Last to go were Fishlegs and Clobbertail. "What you're really looking for is loyalty. A dragon who will be there for you no matter what. The last face you see at night and the first face you see in the morning, warming your bed when it's cold outside, a shoulder to cry on when the world has turned its back on you, how could you not love a Gronckle?" Fishlegs said, getting a bit emotional and hugging Clobbertail around the neck. The royal blue and light green male Gronckle purred and gently nuzzled his mate's rider.

"Sorry, son. But I'm looking for a dragon, not a mother or father. I haven't seen anything that can hold a candle to a Night Fury." Stoick said, directing the last sentence at Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu.

"Me neither, but Toothless is the only Night Fury on Berk and he's mine." Hiccup said. Just then, Gobber ran inside, followed by Fengo and Namara in their owl forms. Fengo was a Spotted Owl with deep brown feathers, lighter brown undersides, pure white spots and forest green eyes. Namara was a Snowy Owl with golden feathers, pure white markings and emerald green eyes. "Stoick! Another boat is being attacked!" Gobber yelled. "It's that rogue dragon again."Fengo said. "Bucket and Mulch are fending it off right now." Namara said. "Let's go." Stoick said. He and Hiccup walked towards Toothless and put a foot on Toothless's saddle stirrup at the same. "Oh, what was I thinking?" Hiccup said when he realized that Stoick wanted to ride in front of him. "At least he blocks the wind." Hiccup muttered once he and Stoick were mounted on Toothless's saddle. But Hiccup often loved feeling the wind in his face and blowing through his hair. Toothless ran through the gate and shot into the air, followed by Aniu, Fengo and Namara.

* * *

Out in the ocean, Bucket and Mulch were finding themselves in a bit of trouble. There was a wild dragon attacking them and they were trying to fight it off. Both of them wielding the boat's oars as weapons, the two men watched a dark, roundish shaped with a long tail swim around the boat. With an eerie, spine-chilling howl, a male Thunderdrum with deep blue scales, light blue underside, dark blue and white spots leapt out of the water, hovered above the boat then unleashed the attack Thunderdrums were famous for: a sonic scream, or a sonic blast depending on how you want to call it.

The sonic scream knocked down the mast and nearly deafened Bucket and Mulch. Just then, Toothless, Stoick, Hiccup, Aniu, Fengo and Namara arrived on the scene. "I don't believe it. A Thunderdrum. They say it gets its power from Thor himself." Hiccup said in amazement. Stoick glared at the dragon who dared to attack his fishermen. "Fire a warning shot. Let him know we mean business." Stoick said. "Toothless, plasma blast." Hiccup ordered. The Night fury shot out a plasma blast at the incoming Thunderdrum who dodged the plasma blast and kept flying at them.

But Toothless fired at it again and the Thunderdrum dove into the water. Toothless landed on the deck of the boat and let Stoick and Hiccup dismount. Aniu, Fengo and Namara turned into their owl forms and landed on the edge of the boat. "I think we scared him off but we need to get everyone out of here." Hiccup said. "Come on, lads. We'll escort you back to shore." Stoick said. "You'll have no more..." Suddenly, the Thunderdrum's tail shot out of the water, grabbed Stoick around the waist and pulled him underwater. "No more what?" Bucket hollered, wondering why Stoick hadn't finished his sentence.

"DAD!" Hiccup screamed, running to the side of the boat. "Stoick!" Aniu and her parents shouted. "Uh, Stoick can swim, right?" Mulch asked. Then the Thunderdrum leapt out of the water with Stoick clinging onto his face. The Thunderdrum crashed onto the boat's deck and Stoick punched him across the face, knocking the Thunderdrum down. "Oh, he's a fighter! He's got spunk!" Stoick exclaimed happily before the Thunderdrum charged at him, knocking the Berkian chief down. Stoick grabbed a fishing net and threw it over the Thunderdrum. "This is the one, Hiccup! I found my dragon! Now, all you and Aniu have to do is train him for me." Stoick said, pinning the Tidal Class dragon down and throwing a hopeful look at Hiccup and Aniu. In shock, Fengo and Namara's beaks fell open and Bucket and Mulch dropped their oars in shock. Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless could only stare at him in disbelief.

* * *

Back on Berk in the Berk Dragon Training Academy arena, Hiccup, Stoick, Aniu, Fengo and Namara stared at the Thunderdrum who was muzzled and locked up in a cage. "Sorry about the muzzle." Hiccup apologised. "All right, let's get me on his back. Time's a–wasting." Stoick said impatiently. "Now, we just need to get a saddle in his size." Hiccup said to Aniu, who giggled. "What was that?" Stoick asked, giving them a look. "Nothing. Look, you have to approach him properly, Dad. Especially a dragon like this. He is one of the most powerful dragons I have ever seen." Hiccup said. "Sometimes, I saw Thunderdrums at Guardian Island where I was born and raised." Aniu said to herself.

"That's why I picked him. They say his roar gets its power from Thor himself. He's the god of thunder and lightning, you know." Stoick said. "So I've heard. Still, you have to let the dragon know you're a friend." Hiccup said. "A friend, huh? Oh, like me and Gobber?" Stoick asked thoughtfully. "Well, you know the friendship between Hiccup and Toothless, I was thinking something like that." Aniu said. "Well, Dad. How did you and Gobber first meet?" Hiccup asked. Instead of telling him, Stoick gave him a demonstration. " 'That's my wife you're talking too, you one-legged lout!'"Stoick exclaimed, trapping Hiccup in a headlock and noogying him.

'So, let me get this straight. You first met Gobber when he was talking to Valka and thought he was flirting with her?" Aniu asked. "Actually, he was just being friendly. It turns out that he was talking to Bertha who was right beside her instead of Valka." Stoick said sheepishly, letting go of his son. Hiccup gasped for breath and said. "Not exactly the approach I had in mind. Dad, what's really important is that you let him know that he can trust you." Referring to the blue male Thunderdrum locked in the cage. "You have to make eye contact." He pointed with two fingers to his emerald green eyes.

"Uh-huh, sure." Stoick said. Hiccup and Aniu walked over to the lever and opened the cage doors. The Tidal Class dragon slowly walked out and growled at Stoick who gave him a challenging stare. "Stay calm and be gentle." Aniu carefully instructed. "And you'll know you formed a bond when he presses his snout against your hand." Hiccup said. Stoick reached out his hand but the Thunderdrum snarled and bit at it. Angrily, Stoick punched the Thunderdrum back into his cage.

"Hey, hey. Whoa, what happened to trust?" Hiccup asked in shock. "Talk to him. He's the one who tried to take off my hand." Stoick snapped. They were distracted by the Thunderdrum trying to make a break for it. But Stoick grabbed his tail before he could escape. "Would you stop it, Dad? This is not bonding." Hiccup said. "Ah, yah gotta show these beasts who's boss." Stoick said, s;amming the Thunderdrum down and jumping onto his back. "Ah, look at that. I'm on his back. Any questions?" Stoick said proudly. The Thunderdrum began flying around the academy. "Oh, too many to ask." Hiccup and Aniu sighed as the blue tidal dragon flew out of the arena. "Whoa! Easy, there. Don't you know who I am?" Stoick exclaimed, holding onto the Thunderdrum's back.

"This is more difficult than I thought it would be. And for the record, your father is as stubborn as you" Aniu sighed. Hiccup nodded. "I completely agree with you and I am not as stubborn as you think I am" He said. Aniu gave him a look that said "Oh, really?" and they ran out of the arena.

* * *

When they reached the blacksmith's, Hiccup and Aniu decided to talk to Gobber (who was examining Meatlug's teeth), Fengo and Namara. "We talked to him, but he just didn't listen. It's like I'm wasting my breath." Hiccup said. "Hiccup, all fathers are different. They all treat their children in a different way. Many fathers show when they are listening but other fathers pretend they're not listening." Fengo said wisely. "I for one, have always listened to my dearest daughter and always will." He gave Aniu a one-armed and one-winged hug. "Dad." Aniu whined, seeing the teasing look in her father's eyes but she knew he loved her and her mother more than life itself. Hiccup smiled at them and heard Gobber saying "I got it."

"Thank you. At least someone understands me." Hiccup said, grateful that he had people in his life who understood him. "I meant this. " Gobber said, pulling a rotten fang out of Meatlug's mouth. "Nasty. Now, what were you saying?" Hiccup groaned. "Uhhh, my father." He ground out. "Right, Stoick." Gobber deadpanned, chopping the rope that held Meatlug's jaws open and letting the Gronckle walk away. _"Thanks, Gobber."_ She called over her shoulder. "Having a little father and son trouble, are we?" Namara asked, joining her husband and daughter in their hug. "Yes, we are." Hiccup sighed. Namara gave him a pitying look. "Now, let me explain something about fathers and sons." Gobber said. "With some people, it's a father's job to listen to his son without ever letting on that he's heard a word."

"Gobber, you're not being very helpful." Fengo said. Hiccup stared at the two men until he heard a voice yell "Hiccup!". They turned around and saw Stoick limping towards them, holding his side and looking battered and bruised with smudges of dirt all over his clothes, armour and skin. "Dad, what happened?" Hiccup asked, running to his father's side. "Ah, the beast through me off and flew off to Thor knows where." Stoick said.

"Well, can you blame him? All you did was fight him?" Aniu asked. "Ah, he loved it." Stoick waved her off. "Apparently not." Hiccup said, frowning. "We can stand here arguing or we can go and get my dragon back." Stoick said, walking away. Hiccup, Aniu, Fengo and Namara sighed and followed him. "Here we go again." Namara muttered under her breath. Fengo heard her and lay a hand on his wife's shoulder.

* * *

In the late afternoon, the Dragon Riders, along with Stoick (who was riding with Hiccup on Toothless's back), Fengo and Namara flew over Berk, searching for the Thunderdrum. "All right, we have to fan out and cover every part of the island." Stoick said. "Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you take the west side." Hiccup said. "You got it, chief." Tuffnut said, adding the chief part by accident. "Can anyone even see me back here?" Hiccup asked, not getting the mistake. "West side!" Stoick yelled at the twins when they didn't move. They quickly did so. "Snotlout, to the north side." Snotlout nodded and directed Hookfang to fly to their assigned position.

'Come on, Fishlegs and Nava, we'll take the east side." Astrid said. "Bu-but it's allergy season." Fishlegs protested. "Fishlegs." Nava gave the chubby Ingerman boy a pointed look. "It's not me, it's her." Fishlegs said, laying his hand on Meatlug's head. Stormfly (with Astrid on her back), Nava and Meatlug (with Fishlegs on her back) flew away, leaving Hiccup, Stoick, Toothless, Aniu, Fengo and Namara by themselves. "Well, your friends are an odd bunch, but they sure know what they're doing on those dragons." Stoick said. "Thank you. I think." Hiccup said.

After several minutes of flying over Berk, they still hadn't found the Thunderdrum so Hiccup decided to strike up a conversation with his father about his bonding strategy." Okay, when we find the dragon, you might wanna think about approaching him differently." Hiccup said. "Obviously, he doesn't like pushed around so..." But Stoick saw the Thunderdrum they were looking for standing guard outside a cave and run into it. "There he is." He said, pointing. "And once again, not a word got through." Hiccup sighed in disappointment. Toothless, Aniu, Fengo and Namara landed and once Hiccup and Stoick got off the Night Fury's back, the Thunderdrum charged forward, snarling. But Toothless reared up, roaring. " _Don't you dare hurt my friends!"._ "Settle down, Toothless." Fengo told the Night Fury. With a grumble, Toothless did what he was told.

"Let me handle this. This dragon's mine." Stoick hissed, pulling a battle hammer out from his armour and holding it up. "Dad..." Hiccup protested. Stoick crept forward and stared at the blue Thunderdrum, then he looked up and saw another Thunderdrum with deep purple scales, light purple undersides, dark purple and white spots in the cave. "There's another Thunderdrum in there." He said. "He's hurt." Hiccup said, walking up beside his father and looking at the purple Thunderdrum. He noticed the dragon seemed to be in pain and was holding its wing by its side. There was a huge hole torn in the wing membrane. A puddle of dried blood was under the wing. "To be more accurate, she's hurt." Namara said, staring at the purple female Thunderdrum. Hiccup stared at her and she nodded, telling him that the purple Thunderdrum was indeed a female.

"He's protecting his friend. Now, it all makes sense. That's why he's been taking all those fish." Stoick said in realization. "Most dragons have instincts to protect, keep each other safe and help other dragons in need." Fengo said. "Go get the others and tell Gobber to get ready." Stoick ordered Hiccup and Aniu. " Dad. We can't just leave you, Fengo and Namara here." Hiccup protested. "You may need help." Aniu also protested. "Go!" Stoick snapped at them. Hiccup sighed and mounted Toothless before the Night Fury shot into the sky, Aniu followed them seconds later.

Stoick waited until they were gone before tossing aside his hammer. "Looks like it's just you, me and these two (He gestured to Fengo and Namara who were standing by in case he needed help). We want to help, trust me." He said, extending his hand to the male Thunderdrum's snout but the tidal dragon looked past Stoick and growled. Stoick turned around and saw a bunch of wild boars heading their way. "Ah, they smell the blood of your wounded friend." He said, reaching for his hammer. As soon as the first boar charged, Stoick let out a battle cry, charged and slammed it aside with his hammer, then another, then another. He looked around for a brief second and saw Fengo and Namara fighting off the boars as well with their wings and magic. Namara turned into her wolf form (Golden fur, white undersides, emerald green eyes) and tackled the boars.

A fourth boar leapt onto his back but Stoick threw it against the rock wall. Two more boars stalked towards the purple female Thunderdrum who whimpered in fear. The blue male Thunderdrum came to her rescue and whipped the boars away with his long tail.

Stoick swung his hammer at another boar, but missed and the boar tackled him. He struggled to get the boar off him until it was whipped away by the blue Thunderdrum. Stoick leapt up, struck another boar, hit a second and threw a third boar off the cliff edge into the water. With the first group of boars defeated, another group came forward to avenge their fallen comrades. Glancing at each other, Stoick and the blue Thunderdrum came to an agreement. Stoick held out his open palm and the blue male Thunderdrum pressed his snout against it. Watching this sight, Fengo and Namara did not interrupt.

With the next group of boars coming closer, Stoick ripped off the muzzle and the blue Thunderdrum bowed his head, letting Stoick climb onto his back and sit behind his head. Stoick waited until the boars were close enough before raising his fist and swinging it down, giving the tidal class dragon the signal to fire out a sonic blast. The wild boars were blown away, literally. "Aw, look at us. We're bonded!" Stoick exclaimed happily. "You sure are." Fengo said proudly. Then the dragon riders arrived. "What happened?" Hiccup asked, dismounting Toothless. "Ah, battled a few boars, did a little bonding." Stoick said. "They sure did." Namara said, returning to her human form.

"You?" Hiccup asked in surprise. "Of course. There's some things you should know about dragons. It's all about trust." Stoick said. "So, you actually heard that?" Hiccup asked. "Yes, I just said it. I listen." Stoick chuckled. Hiccup stared at his father in relief and amazement. "Now, who's this handsome fella?" Aniu asked, gesturing at the blue male Thunderdrum Stoick was riding on. _"My name is Thornado and the Thunderdrum in the cave is my mate. Her name's Sonica."_ He said, blushing at being called handsome. Aniu relayed this information to all of the surrounding people.

"Now, what should we do about Sonica?" Fengo asked, having heard Thornado say her name. "We need to take her back to the village. Her wing's hurt bad. She'll need a magical operation to fix the damage." Namara said, who had been examining Sonica in the cave. "We've got a sail here in case we needed to carry someone or something back to the village. Hopefully, it's big enough for her." Nava said.

Once they managed to load Sonica onto the sail, they carried her to a cave right beside the Haddock house where she and Thornado would live. Thankfully, the cave was close to and had a perfect view of the ocean so the two Thunderdrums were happy. Later on, Aniu, Nava, Fengo, Namara, Thornado, Stoick, Hiccup and Toothless gathered together outside Thornado and Sonica's cave. "Is she ready for the operation?" Stoick asked. Namara (who had just checked on Sonica with her daughter) nodded. "Yes, she is. Hopefully, all it will take is a few healing spells."She said. "And it is time for the operation now." She and the rest went inside the cave where Sonica was waiting. Namara, Fengo, Aniu and Nava positioned themselves close to Sonica's wounded wing and held their hands on both sides. Thornado sat on his mate's other side so he could comfort her. Namara made sure the wound was cleaned free of blood and possible infection. _"Will this hurt?"_ Sonica asked in the deep voice that Thunderdrums usually spoke in. "Hopefully, it won't be too painful." Namara said comfortingly.

"All right, on one, two, three." Fengo said and the four guardians began chanting _"_ healomora" over and over again. Aniu and Namara's hands were glowing emerald green, Fengo's hands were glowing forest green and Nava's hands were glowing sapphire blue. Slowly, but surely the hole began to close as the membrane knitted back together. Sonica hissed in pain and gritted her large teeth until it was finally over. "All done." Namara said and the four guardians finished the spells. Namara began examining the wing and the hole was completely gone, leaving flawless skin with only a small scar. Scales had also began to grow back but they'll take time. Sonica stared at her wing then looked at her mate in relief and happiness. "You should be back to flying in around two weeks and until then, take it easy." Fengo said. _"Thank you. I was so scared that I'll never be ble to fly or swim properly again."_ Sonica said, deep voice thick with emotion. "I think you should rest now." Aniu said gently. _"Yes, I think I will now. Goodnight."_ Sonica said and fell asleep. Thornado nuzzled his mate and lay down beside her.

Every one walked outside and Aniu and Nava gave each other a hug. Aniu sighed into Nava's shoulder. She loved hugs, especially from him. Astrid walked up to Hiccup with a grin on her face. "Hey, Hic. Congratulations on getting your father a dragon." She said. "Thanks, Astrid. I admit, it was a lot of work." Hiccup said, giving her a hug, than summoning his courage, he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. Astrid glanced at him in surprise then snuggled her head into his chest.

 **"Ah, My Dad still does things the Viking Way."**

The week after, Stoick rode on Thornado's back while the Thunderdrum pulled two boats out into the water. He now wore a saddle made just for him and liked it.

 **"Fortunately, Aniu, Toothless and I showed him that the Viking Way can also be the Dragon Way."**

Once the two ships were out on the open water, Thornado let go of the ropes and flew up into the sky with Stoick on his back. They were joined by Hiccup and Toothless. Together, father and son, along with their dragons spent some quality family time by flying around Berk. Aniu also spent some quality family time with her parents by doing the same thing. The roar of the Thunderdrum was joined by the baritone roar of a Night Fury.

 **In this story, Hiccup and Astrid are boyfriend and girlfriend but they're taking their relationship slowly for the time being. You'll probably find a bit more romance between Aniu and Nava in these stories than Hiccup and Astrid.**

 **I based Arrow the Deadly Nadder off one of my Deadly Nadders (the main one) from School of Dragons. My School of Dragons main Nadder is also named Arrow, I think it's a male, it's also got green scales but with red horns and light blue undersides.**

 **Sorry, for taking so long, but I had so many issues with my schedule that I forgot about my stories.**

 **One thing I don't is that in Dragons: Race to the Edge; Episode 3: Imperfect Harmony, Thunderdrums are nearly deaf but in Dragons: Riders and Defenders of Berk Thornado seemed to hear things very clearly.**

 **This story was thirteen pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 2.11.2015**


	8. Hiccup and the Treasure Map

_"_ _Dragon's speaking"_

 _'_ _telepathical speaking_ _'_

 _Thinking_

 **"** **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Hiccup and the Treasure Map**

 **"** **Measuring up to a Viking father isn't easy."**

Hiccup and Stoick in front of Bucket who was painting their picture onto a shield. Hiccup was holding another shield and Stoick was holding a sword. Aniu, Fengo and Namara were watching them, sitting on the ground in their wolf forms.

 **"** **Especially when that Viking father is also the chief of your village. So when you get a chance to prove yourself, you go for it."**

"Shoulders back, chin up, son. This portrait is going to hang in this Hall forever." Stoick said proudly. "Not good, not good, not good." Bucket began muttering, walking over to them, brushing some dust off Stoick's shoulder pad and straightening Hiccup's shield. "I can't do this!" Bucket wailed, hitting his bucket-clad head against a stone column. "Okay, I'm good now." He said. "I have never seen Bucket like this." Hiccup whispered to his father. 'Well, when he lost half of his brain, he suddenly became an artist." Stoick told him. 'So, he can actually paint." Hiccup said. "Oh, he's the best. He's going to do us proud, son. This portrait is going to take its place alongside all the other chiefs and heirs." Stoick said, gesturing to the line of portraits hanging on the wall behind them. That is the only picture of my father and me. It was a great day and so is this." Together, they waited until Bucket had finished the portrait before they were allowed to leave.

* * *

When afternoon arrived, many Vikings gathered together in the Great Hall, waiting for the newest chief-and chief's-heir portrait to be unveiled. Hiccup and the gang were standing together looking at the other portraits. "Look at all these great leaders and tomorrow, your picture's gonna be hanging on the wall right next to them." Astrid said. "When you become chief, Hiccup, all of us will stand right beside you." Aniu said, slinging an arm and a wing around Hiccup's shoulders. Stoick heard that and smiled proudly. He'll definitely stand by Hiccup's side when he became chief. "Thanks, Ni." Hiccup said, smiling at his surrogate sister.

"There goes the neighbourhood." Snotlout snorted. "You're part of an elite group now, my friend." Fishlegs told Hiccup, smiling. "I guess it is a pretty big deal." Hiccup said. "Who knows, Hic, you may need some help from time to time." Nava said. "When I do, I'll make sure to ask all of you for help. I mean, it's like being a part of history, right?" Hiccup said. "History of goofballs. Ha, what a clown." Snotlout snickered, gesturing at a portrait. "Come on, Snotlout. Show some respect." Aniu scolded. "That is Hamish the First. He was our richest and most revered leader. And that is his son, Hamish the Second." Fishlegs said. "I'm Hamish the First. Bow down before me and you shall be spared." Snotlout mocked. The Thorston twins snickered and obeyed. Tuffnut bowed down mockingly and Ruffnut pushed Snotlout into the wall. Laughing, they stood up and the Hamish's portrait fell off the wall and landed on Snotlout, who yelped.

"Look what you did to the Hamishes. Forgive us please." Fishlegs said, running over and putting the portrait back onto the wall. Then, a single sheet of parchment fluttered down to the ground from its hiding place. Snotlout picked it up. "What's that? It's probably mine." Tuffnut said, grabbing at it. "Looks like some sort of map with poetry." Snotlout said, frowning at it. "I'll take that." Gobber said, plucking the parchment out of Snotlout's hands.

"Hey, that's my poetry map." Snotlout protested. "All of these were supposed to be destroyed." Gobber muttered, staring at the piece of parchment in his hand. "Why?" Nava asked curiously. "What's so special about it?" Astrid asked sceptically, wondering what was so dangerous about it. "Men lost their limbs, their lives and their minds trying to find that treasure." Gobber said. "I've heard about this. The treasure of Hamish the First. His son buried him with it and left this map. They say the clues are so complicated that only a brilliant mind could decipher them."Fishlegs regaled the group.

"Stoick and I even went after this treasure." Gobber said. The Dragon Trainers gathered around him curiously ". It lured us high up into the mountains in a blinding snowstorm. We fought like badgers over the meaning of the clues. We were lucky to make it back with our lives and our friendship intact. For your own good, kids, Forget you ever saw this." He hobbled away, the map clutched in his hand but judging by the looks on Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut's faces, they weren't intent on forgetting any time soon.

* * *

The next day, the Berkian villagers gathered in the Great Hall, waiting for the portrait to be unveiled. Hiccup and Stoick stood beside it. "Here it comes, son. This is our legacy." Stoick said proudly, gesturing to the portrait. Hiccup glanced at his friends who were gathered in a corner. Astrid, Nava and Aniu gave him a reassuring thumbs-up. Once everyone was ready, Bucket pulled off the purple cloth which covered the portrait. Hiccup stared at it expectantly only to be in for a shock. The portrait was not right.

The reason was because Hiccup looked different, much more different than he usually was while Stoick was depicted as what he truly looked like. And the Hiccup on the portrait was much more buffer and nothing like the real him. However, that didn't stop the crowd from cheering. "Whoa, what happened to Hiccup?" Tuffnut asked. "Who cares?" Ruffnut asked. Fengo, Namara, Astrid, Nava and Aniu stared at Hiccup in concern.

"Hey, Bucket, why am I...like that?" Hiccup asked, gesturing to the portrait. "Why is the sky blue? Why do I have a bucket on my head?" Bucket asked rhetorically. "We'll never know the answers." Stoick walked to them. "Oh, you did a brilliant job, Bucket. Don't you think so, son?" He said. "But it's not me." Hiccup said, sounding upset. Sure it is, son." Stoick said, oblivious to his son's emotions. "It's you but bigger and stronger." Mulch joined them. "Now that's the son of a chief." He said. "You see what I mean?" Stoick asked. Hiccup glanced at the painting again. "Hiccup, are you okay?" Aniu asked, gently putting her hand on his shoulder but Hiccup shrugged it off and ran outside. Aniu sighed, grabbed Astrid and Nava's hands and ran after Hiccup with them following her.

* * *

"Hiccup, wait!" Aniu hollered once she found him. "We just want to talk to you." Nava yelled. "We're sorry about the portrait!" Astrid exclaimed. Hiccup sighed and let them walk beside him. "Unbelievable, my father likes that painting better than the real me. I mean, think about it, even my name. You know it's Viking tradition to call the runt of a litter a hiccup." Hiccup finally started talking after some time. A shepherd walked past them, leading a flock of sheep. "Come on, little Hiccup." He called out to a tiny sheep which was lagging behind. Once the little sheep had jumped into his arms, the shepherd straightened up, saw the teens and said "Oh, hey, Hiccup." before walking away.

"See? What do I have to do to get my father to accept me?" Hiccup asked morosely. Astrid sympathetically put a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "He does accept you. He just accepts the painting more." She said. "You're not helping with the last part, Astrid." Aniu said dryly. "Hiccup, I think that Stoick truly does care about you but doesn't realise how badly this is affecting you. Some people go to great lengths just prove themselves to other people but don't realise that the people already _do_ care about them. Sometimes, they don't realise until sometime bad happens." Nava said wisely. "Thanks, wise guy." Hiccup said. Nava smiled and gently punched Hiccup on the shoulder for the 'wise guy' comment.

Then they saw Fishlegs standing guard outside the forge. Once he saw them, the Ingerman boy. "What are you doing out here?" Aniu asked. "N-n-nothing" Fishlegs stammered nervously, sounding very suspicious. "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"

"Okay, where are they?" Hiccup asked. "Hoo-hooo. Hoo-hooo. Hoo." Fishlegs called out, sounding like an owl, a Great Horned to be exact. Sighing, Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava went around to the side of the forge while Fishlegs kept calling out. Snotlout fell out of a window in the forge while Ruffnut and Tuffnut watched him. "What are you doing?" Hiccup asked. "You three better not be stealing anything for a prank of yours." Nava said, crossing his arms. Sometimes, he found himself on the receiving end of Ruffnut, Tuffnut and sometimes Snotlout's pranks.

"I got the map, we're finding that treasure and you are a horrible lookout." Snotlout said, holding the rolled up parchment in his hand and directing the last part of his sentence at Fishlegs. "You heard what Gobber said. The bravest warriors in history have died trying to find the treasure." Astrid said. "Yeah and I'm next." Snotlout remarked arrogantly and stupidly. "Well, I personally would like to live see my next birthday." The sixteen year old Hofferson shield maiden said.

"We'll be legends. They'll sing songs and tell stories about us." Fishlegs said. "You'll be dead. Come on, guys, not even Stoick could find that treasure." Astrid said. Hiccup, who had been staying silent during the conversation, looked up. "You're right. He couldn't. Give me that map, please." He said, pulling the map out of Snotlout's hand and opening it up. "Finally, someone is making sense." Astrid said in relief.

"Alright, where do we start?" Hiccup asked, staring at the map. "Are you serious?" Astrid asked in disbelief. "Hiccup, this treasure hunt could be very dangerous." Nava protested. "When Hiccup sets his mind on something, it's really hard to stop him from doing it." Aniu muttered. "Think about it, you guys. My father couldn't find that treasure. What would he say if I did something Stoick the Vast couldn't do? How great would that be?" Hiccup implored. "You're gonna go after this no matter what I say, right? So, yeah, pretty great, right?" Astrid asked, walking over to Hiccup. "So, you're not gonna give me a hard time?" Hiccup asked hopefully. "Oh, I will give you a hard time, every step of the way." Astrid said, gently poking Hiccup on his chest. "Besides, I can't let you go with just them." She pointed at the Thorston twins, who were having a slapping contest.

"Harder. I said I wanted to see stars." Tuffnut said. Ruffnut obliged and slapped him across the face. "Well, it looks like most us are in agreement." Nava said. "So, what do we do now? What does the map say?" Aniu asked. "It looks like the map leads you to these spots." Hiccup said. "And the riddles are clues to what we're supposed to find." Fishlegs said, running a chubby finger down the map. "Blah, blah, blah. Where's the treasure?" Snotlout asked, snatching the map out of his cousin's hands. "Hm, clue number one. 'Where the land meets the sea, in the crook of the master's knee, that's where your search will be...gin."

"That doesn't sound so brilliant." Ruffnut said. "Okay, think, think, think, think, think. I forgot what I was thinking about." Tuffnut said. "'The master's knee.'" Aniu said, frowning. "I've seen this before." Hiccup said. "Come on, guys." The Dragon Trainers ran up the Great Hall's stairs, into the building and up to the chief-and-heir portraits. "Look, right there where his knee bends. It's pointing to this spot on the beach." Hiccup said, pointing at the Hamishes portrait. The elder Hamish had his foot on a rock and his knee was pointing at a rock formation. "And that's where we'll start." Nava said. "Everyone, get your dragons. We're heading out." Aniu exclaimed.

* * *

As the Dragon Trainers minus Aniu and Nava ran off to get their dragons, Hiccup spotted his faithful Night Fury playing with Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet (Stormfly and Arrow's hatchlings), Ignitis, Infernia (Hookfang and Firesnow's hatchlings), BoomerBanger (BarfBelch and LefaRila's hatchling), Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie (Meatlug and Clobbertail's hatchlings) while their parents hung out together."Toothless! Come on, bud. We're going on a flight!" Hiccup yelled. "More like an adventure!" Aniu said. Quickly saying goodbye to the young dragons, Toothless ran over to them while Nava went over to the dragon toddlers. " Hey, it just me or are you guys getting bigger?" He asked, tilting his head and gently scratching Ignitis and Forestflier under their necks.

 _"_ _Yep, as we get older, we grow bigger."_ Skyflier said, flapping her small wings enthusiastically. _"_ _We don't stay young forever, you know."_ Violet said, shyly nuzzling her head against Nava's wing. Nava smiled and gently stroked the purple Nadder's occipital* horns which were still only mere stubs. _"_ _We going to learn how to fly pretty soon."_ Forestflier said. _"Even though_ _we're only a few months old."_ Infernia said. "I'm sure you'll grow up to be fantastic fliers." Nava said, before he got up and left. _"_ _Bye, Nava. Bye, Toothless!"_ The eight young dragonets yelled. "They're such cute and innocent little ones, aren't they?" Aniu smiled as Nava joined her. "Yeah, they are. And they've got good manners and are very polite." Nava said, remembering Aniu's love for young, cute and innocent things.

* * *

Not wanting to waste any time, the dragon riders and guardians flew out to the location of the next clue. "Listen up, you guys. 'From here, you will see the seed that has been sown. Look to where water turns to bone.'" Hiccup said, reading the map's instructions once they landed on the beach. "'Water turns to bone.' Hamish isn't even trying to make sense." Snotlout complained. "It's a riddle, Snotlout. It's not supposed to make much sense at all." Aniu said, gently hitting the boy with her wing. "No, it...'water turns to bone', 'water turns to bone'. He must mean ice. The glacier." Hiccup realized, staring up at the glacier that towered above them all.

"Well, ice is water's solid form, water is a liquid and steam, mist and water vapour is water in a gas form." Aniu said. "When ice turns into water, it's called melting. Condensation is when water vapour turns into water liquid. Evaporation is when water turns into its gas form. Freezing is when water turns into ice. Evaporation turns liquid water into a gas called water vapour. Condensation turns water vapour into liquid water. Water vapour condenses into millions of tiny droplets that form clouds. When clouds lose their water as rain or snow, it is called precipitation." Nava realized what he just said and blushed. "Never knew you were such a bookworm, Nava." Snotlout snickered. Nava promptly used ice magic, formed a snow cloud above Snotlout's head and caused a whole heap of snow to fall on him. "Hey, you're just asking for me to beat you up in a snowball fight." Snotlout said. "That's Nava's way of getting revenge for things like that." Aniu said. _"If the clues on that map says look to the glacier, then maybe we should inside it and look around."_ Toothless said. Aniu translated his words to everyone and they all agreed.

* * *

"You had the map and you didn't destroy it! What were you thinking?" Stoick yelled at Gobber who was pacing in front of his throne. Fengo and Namara were standing by watching them. "I know, I'm an idiot. I thought you and I could take another crack at finding that treasure along with Fengo and Namara." Gobber said. "Gobber!" Stoick exclaimed in disbelief. "We turned back too early. So we lost a couple of toes." Gobber retorted. "Ack, come on, you three. We've got to find Hiccup, Aniu and the others before they get themselves killed. Why would he do something like this." Stoick sighed, going outside to get Thornado and Sonica. The purple female Thunderdrum's wing had fully healed and she could now fly again. Gobber, Fengo and Namara glanced at the portrait guiltily.

* * *

By then, the teens were in the glacier looking at their surroundings. "There's something in there." Astrid said, pointing at an ice wall. "I bet that guy saw it too." Fishlegs murmured. "Hey, there's something in the ice." Aniu said. "'Call on Magni you'll go astray. Freya, though, will show the way.'" Hiccup read the clues carefully. "I get it." Snotlout said, kneeling down and banging his helmeted head against the ice. Aniu (with her sensitive ears and enhanced hearing) heard a click, looked up and saw a contraption with a giant spiked claw swinging down towards Snotlout. Hiccup (who had saw it too) leapt forward and pulled Snotlout out of the way. The giant spiked claw slammed into the ice wall where Snotlout's head had been then returned to its original position.

"We can't break the ice. That's what Magni means. He's the god of strength." Hiccup said. "That's right." Fishlegs said. "And Freya is the goddess of fire." Hiccup and Nava said simultaneously. "And that's exactly what we're gonna use. Aniu, would you do the honour?" Hiccup asked. "Sure thing, Hic." Aniu said, kneeling down on the patch of ice and holdings her hands out. With Aniu's concentration, her hands glowed red and a small, steady plume of fire streamed out from them. Aniu continued melting the ice until the mysterious object was unburied. It was a small, strangely shaped, metal piece with intricate designs. But when Hiccup tried to pick it up, he hissed in pain from the heat. Aniu used light blue ice magic to cool it down. "Thanks, Ni." The boy said. "No problem, Hic."The guardian said. Once the metal object had been cooled down, Hiccup picked it up and once he did that, the ice rumbled but it stopped quickly. "That's it? That's the treasure?" Ruffnut asked in disappointment. "No, it can't be. But I bet this will lead us to it." Hiccup said. Tuffnut grabbed the metal object from Hiccup's hands and held it at arm's length. "Take us to the treasure." He ordered it seriously, as if the metal object would just magically teleport them away. "Let me know if it answers." Astrid joked, rolling her blue eyes at Tuffnut's stupidity in amusement.

"This is just the first piece..." Hiccup started to say before the ice started to rumble again, but the rumbles were much stronger this time. The Dragon Riders and guardians looked around nervously as the rumbles increased in frequency and strength. Then, the ice began cracking under everyone's feet. Desperately, the Dragon Riders started calling out for their dragons while Aniu and Nava prepared to fly. Luckily, the dragons were nearby and ran to their riders, who quickly mounted them. Everyone made it out just as the glacier broke apart. "Whoo, that was a close one." Nava sighed in relief. "If we hadn't flown out of there when we did, we would've been crushed or buried alive." Everyone agreed with him.

* * *

After the dragon riders, dragons and guardians left, Stoick, Thornado, Fengo, Namara, Gobber and Sonica landed on the beach. Gobber dismounted from Sonica's back and examined the ground. "Night Fury prints. They were here (he picked up some sand and sniffed it) about an hour ago." He said. "You're right about that, Gobber." Fengo said, sniffing the ground in his wolf form. "They must be around here somewhere unless they moved on." Namara said, also examining the ground in her wolf form.

"I'll never understand how you worked that out, Gobber. What does an hour ago smell like?" Stoick said. "Not as strong as a half hour ago." Gobber said. "The longer they've been gone, the fainter the scent, Stoick." Fengo said."If they were here recently, then the scent will be stronger than if they weren't here recently." Namara informed them. "No wonder I married you." Fengo said, returning to his human form and hugging his wife even though she was still in her wolf form. Namara returned to her human form and kissed her husband on the cheek.

Then, Stoick heard the sound of ice breaking and saw the crumbling glacier. "Look, the kids must've found something up there." He said, pointing. "It was in the glacier. I knew it!" Gobber exclaimed. "Oh, you knew it, did ya? Then, how come we spent a week digging in the sand?" Stoick asked angrily. "That was your idea." Gobber reminded him. "Hiccup got further in one afternoon than we got in a month." Stoick said. "Maybe because he had Aniu and his friends to help him out." Namara said. "Yeah, looks like the little hiccup's got the best of us. And we think we're the big, strong Vikings." Gobber said. "What are you saying?" Stoick asked. "Stoick, it's the painting." Fengo said.

"Ah, of course, he's trying to prove himself." Stoick said, guilt washing over him. "Stoick, did you see Hiccup's face when the portrait was unveiled?" Namara asked. "The poor lad was upset." Fengo said. Stoick realised what his son must have felt and lowered his head in shame. Then all of them turned and stared up at the glacier.

* * *

The Dragon Riders, dragons and guardians perched on a sea stack to solve the next riddle. "'At the edge of the world, amidst the raging sea, in the serpent's mouth lies another key.'" Hiccup read. "Serpents? I hate serpents. Those are reptiles, right?" Tuffnut asked. "You do realize you're sitting on a reptile?" Ruffnut asked. Tuffnut looked down at Belch and said "Oh.".

"Hey, that cloud look like a snake." Snotlout said, pointing up at a cloud. "Yeah and in five minutes it will look like a bunny rabbit." Astrid said. "Clouds change shape very regularly and besides, why would the next key even be up on a cloud?" Aniu said. "Wait a minute. He might be onto something. 'In the mouth lies the key'." Hiccup saw a rock formation shaped like a snake up ahead, compared it to the drawing on the map and noticed they looked very much alike. "I think the key might be in its open mouth." Nava said."Look. Right there. Toothless, let's go." Hiccup said. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you crazy. You can't take a Night Fury with a wingspan of thirty feet and expect him to hover in winds like that. You'll be killed." Fishlegs exclaimed. "Well, what's the wingspan of Meatlug?" Hiccup asked, looking thoughtful. "Oh no, Hiccup. You are not seriously thinking what I think you are thinking." Aniu said. Fishlegs looked down at Meatlug and realized what Hiccup wanted.

Minutes later, Meatlug was flying through the air with Hiccup hanging onto a rope attached to her saddle. "Keep her steady." Hiccup instructed. "Oh, Thor. Oh, Thor. Oh, Thor. Do we really need that treasure? Isn't our friendship treasure enough?" Fishlegs exclaimed, trying to keep Meatlug steady. Once they reached the rock formation, Meatlug hovered, allowing Hiccup to reach out for the next piece of the key he could clearly see in the stone serpent's mouth. "I can't reach it.' Hiccup said, noticing they were too far away to grab it. "Okay, we tried. A for effort." Fishlegs said nervously.

"Hold on." Hiccup ordered, lowering himself down the rope until he was just above the metal piece. Carefully, he reached out with his prosthetic foot. "Come on. No." He groaned when he failed to ligt it up. Carefully, he put his prosthetic foot under the key, flicked it up and caught it in his hand. "Yes! Got it!" He yelled. Fishlegs happily steered Meatlug back to the sea stack where the other riders, dragons and Nava waited. "How's that for a hiccup?" Hiccup asked himself proudly.

Later on, the dragons decided to walk through the forest to rest their wings while their riders rode on their backs or necks. Aniu and Nava were in their wolf forms walking alongside them. After looking at the map, Nava said they should walk through the forest in case they missed anything. "Look, they fit together. We must be on the right track." Hiccup said, holding the two metal key pieces together.

"Hamish the Second must've cut them that way so the pieces will fit together like a puzzle. And I think we need to find one piece so they key is completed and then we can continue on." Aniu said, walking right beside Toothless so she could see the metal pieces. Nava (who was walking right beside Aniu) accidently stepped on her paw and brushed her side with his furry, silver-blonde tail. "Watch it, mister." Aniu said in fake anger. "Sorry, Ni." Nava said, moving to the side so he wouldn't keep bumping into Aniu. "Do you remember that race we had in our wolf forms when we were younger?" Aniu asked, smiling. "Yeah, how could I forget? We accidently ran into each other and ended up in a wolf pile*. Alex and Amanda wouldn't stop laughing at us." Nava said, remembering his cousin Alex who was still living at Guardian Island where he, Aniu and her parents used to live. Amanda was Alex's best friend and crush.

"Hiccup, what are you gonna do with your part of the treasure?" Ruffnut asked once Aniu and Nava finished their conversation. Indeed, all the teens were thinking about what they'll get with their share of the treasure.

Astrid was thinking of getting some new spare weapons to go with her double-bladed battle axe as well as some gifts for Hiccup, Aniu, Nava and Toothless to show how much she cared about them and possibly some armour for Stormfly, target shields for Arrow and some toys for Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet. "Who knows, Storm. I might get you some armour and get toys for your hatchlings." She whispered to her dragon. _"Thanks, Astrid but I don't really want armour because it will probably slow me down and make it harder to move around and besides, I don't like anything covering my scales. And as for the toys, well, I think that my hatchlings will love them. And Arrow wishes he could train with the rest of us."_ Stormfly said. Nava translated her words to Astrid who nodded.

Nava was thinking of getting some new books, scrolls and maps. Unknowingly, Fishlegs was also thinking of getting the same things only a lot more of them from Trader Johann as well as some gifts for Meatlug and her mate and hatchlings.

The Thorston twins were thinking of getting new helmets and some fireworks from Trader Johann. Snotlout wasn't really sure, but he wanted to get some treasure for when he did decide on something he liked.

Aniu was thinking of getting some medical equipment, herbs and other things for her mother and the elder of the village so Namara and Gothi could keep helping the residents of Berk when they were either sick or injured.

"I'm not really here for the treasure." Hiccup said. "Great, I get his share." Snotlout said greedily. "You know, you don't have to do this." Astrid told her boyfriend gently. "Yeah, try telling that to my Dad." Hiccup replied. Eventually, they arrived at a stone wall with a door made out of bricks. "This must be the spot. Why else would anyone build a wall in the middle of the woods?" Hiccup asked. "Uh, duh. To keep out the other trees." Tuffnut said like it was very obvious. "Tuffnut, that was a rhetorical question which means you didn't have to answer it." Aniu said.

"Well, I got another one for you guys. 'The world is right when stars align. When not in sync, then danger you'll find.'" Hiccup said, reading off the clues. "Stars? I'm not waiting around her till night." Snotlout said dumbly. "No, I don't think he means actual stars. I mean, the water didn't really turn to bone." Aniu said, referring to the riddle about the glacier in her last sentence. "Well, what do you think it means?" Astrid asked. "Why are you asking them? Maybe I know." Snotlout said arrogantly. Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava stared at him. "I said maybe. Turns out, I don't." Snotlout said. Aniu, Nava, Toothless and Stormfly shared looks with Hookfang, BarfBelch and Meatlug and all of them rolled their eyes. _"I'm sorry about my rider being such an idiot most of the time."_ Hookfang said.

It's okay, Hookie. It's not your fault. He was like that way before you met him. Aniu telepathically told the Monstrous Nightmare dragon. Fishlegs got off Meatlug and examined the door. "Huh, there are shapes carved into each one of these bricks." He said. "Keep a look out for anything that looks like a star." Hiccup said. "Got one!" Snotlout exclaimed, pulling out a brick with a star shape carved onto it. But no sooner than he had done that, the ground began rumbling and rocks started falling. "Put it back! Put it back! Put it back!" Fishlegs screamed frantically.

But no matter how hard he tried, Snotlout couldn't push the brick back in. "Hookfang! Hookfang!" he started screaming. Hookfang was watching a leaf float past his face when he heard his rider's screams. Quickly, he shoved Snotlout aside and pushed the brick in with his snout. The rumbling stopped and no more rocks rained down. "Okay. It says 'in sync'. That means there must be another star." Hiccup said. "Over here!" Astrid said, pointing at a brick. "I think we're supposed to pull them out at the same time. Ruff, Tuff?" Hiccup said.

The Thorston twins showed their Zippleback the star carvings and mimed pulling them out at the same time. Barf and Belch grabbed the bricks in their jaws and pulled them out in unison. Nothing happened until the rock door opened. "Whoa."/ "Wow."/ "This is amazing."/ "Cool." The teens breathed out in awe. Everyone (dragons included) went inside and once the last person was inside, the doors shut, leaving everyone trapped inside.

Toothless roared in alarm, spun around and tried to claw open the doors but was unsuccessful. Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava exchanged worried looks with each other. "Well, we came this far. We should keep going and see where this place leads us." Aniu said nervously. Everyone agreed with her and grabbed unlit torches. Aniu and Nava ignited theirs with fire magic while the riders asked their dragons to light their torches for them.

"Let's keep moving." Nava said and everyone walked down a tunnel. But when they arrived in a dark chamber, the temperature began to rise, literally. And the floor seemed to be covered in something that was making low chirping noises. A group of pedestals arranged in a circle stood in the centre of the chamber.

"Uh, it's so hot. Is anybody else hot? 'Cause I'm really hot." Snotlout groaned, wiping his sweating forehead. "I know. I'm sweating like a wolf in a desert." Tuffnut said. "I'm feeling it too." Aniu said, trying to use wind and ice magic to cool herself down. "You're not the only one." Nava said, wishing he could get a drink of cold water. Due to his signature element being ice, he was feeling the heat more than the rest. _"If you're feeling so sweaty Nava, why don't you take off your vest?"_ Stormfly asked. Nava ended up taking off his grey vest and wiping his sweaty hands on his blue tunic and grey trousers.

"Uh, guys? Is it just me or is the floor moving?" Astrid asked nervously. Hiccup held his torchlight close to the ground and saw tiny, little dragon-like creatures scuttle away from the firelight. Hiccup moved his torchlight to another patch of ground and the same thing happened. "Uh, Toothless, can you give us some light please?" He asked his dragon. Toothless spat a plasma blast at a rock overhang and light spread through the chamber.

"That's why it's so hot in here." Fishlegs realized. "Fireworm dragons." Tuffnut eagerly knelt down and picked up a tiny Fireworm dragon. From its perch on Tuffnut's hand, they could see that the Fireworm dragon had a long body and tail, a wide head with a nasal horn, a big pair of wings, five pairs of legs and two glowing, pupil-less eyes. It had golden-orange scales and it was glowing, literally. "Stop. Their skin burns hotter than the sun." Hiccup said. He had read about these dragons in a book. "Yeah, but how hot can the sun really be?" Tuffnut asked. "Tuffnut, the sun is the main source of heat and light in the world along with fire." Aniu said. The little Fireworm chose that moment to heat its skin up to a high temperature, burning Tuffnut's hand.

"OUCH! Ow! Arrgh." The male Thorston screamed, dropping the Fireworm, allowing it to scuttle back to its brethren. Unfortunately, the rest of the Fireworms heated themselves up and began to attack the riders, dragons and guardians. Hiccup yelped in pain when a couple of them tried to climb up his leg but Toothless shot fire at them. The other dragons followed suit and the riders huddled close to their dragons for protection. Aniu and Nava turned into their dragon forms and breathed fire at the Fireworms. "The Fireworms are afraid of fire! Keep shooting it at them!" Nava yelled.

The Fireworms fled the area in the dozens, Hiccup walked into the shallow pit in the middle of the cavern where the pedestals were, closely followed by Toothless and Aniu. "Grab them and let's go!" Snotlout shouted. "No, it's a choice. Listen to this, guys. 'Something pure and something strong. Look first to yourself and you won't go wrong.'"Hiccup said. "Strong. That must be the one made of iron." Fishlegs said thoughtfully. "But iron's not pure. Take the gold." Astrid said.

By now, the dragons were beginning to use up their shot limit. Hookfang spat out a weak burst of fire and started coughing when his fire supply ran out. Meatlug took over for him but even she barely had any lava left in her body. Nava kept trying to help his dragon friends but he was getting tired.

"It's getting really hard to breathe." Astrid said weakly, wiping a hand against her sweaty forehead and pushing her damp fringe out of her face. "That's what happens when you're getting roasted alive. You might wanna make a decision soon, Hiccup. We don't have much time left." Fishlegs said.

A small of Fireworms snuck up to Hiccup but Toothless and Aniu noticed. _"Stay away from my rider, you fiends."_ Toothless growled as he and Aniu spat fire at the little dragons, forcing them to run away. "'Look first to yourself.'"Hiccup repeated to himself, giving Toothless and Aniu pats on the head to show his gratitude. Slowly, he moved to a piece of metal shaped just like the other two key pieces he had in his pocket.

"Careful. It could be a trap." Astrid called out to her boyfriend. Very slowly and carefully, Hiccup picked up the piece. At first, nothing happened and Toothless and Aniu let out sighs of relief until a rumbling sound the chamber and the Fireworms fled. Suddenly, the floor beneath his feet fell apart. Screaming, Hiccup and Aniu fell into the inky blackness. Toothless had managed to get to safe ground but jumped into the chasm when he saw Aniu and his rider fall in. "Hiccup!"/"Aniu!" Astrid and Nava screamed.

Then the chamber started to cave in. "We gotta get outta here!" Tuffnut yelled as rocks started to fall from the ceiling. "Through there!" Snotlout yelled, pointing at a hole in the roof big enough for all of them to fly out of. "No! We're not leaving them!" Astrid yelled, attempting to pull Fishlegs off Meatlug's saddle.

"If we don't go now, we'll all be trapped. There won't be anyone to help Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless." Fishlegs said. Astrid, with a heavy heart, realized he was right. Quickly, she climbed onto Stormfly's saddle and all of them flew outside through the hole in the roof.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless had recovered from the fall. "We gotta find some way out of here, guys." Hiccup said, dusting himself off. "Can you give us some light, bud?" Toothless looked around and set a rock on fire. Aniu's hand glowed bright yellow and a ball of light appeared in it.

Hiccup smiled at her and his Night Fury gratefully before looking down and seeing a circular dent in the ground. "I think that's where the key is supposed to go into once you put the pieces together." Aniu said.

Hiccup grabbed the three metal objects out of his pocket and put them together. They interlocked like a puzzle. Carefully, he put the key into the slot and turned it. A pedestal rose out of the ground and a door opened up in a corner. "Well, we came this far." Hiccup said, walking towards the door. Toothless and Aniu glanced at each other, shrugged and followed him.

Outside, the riders, dragons and Nava were doing their very best to throw aside rocks in an attempt to dig through the rubble. "Keep digging! We gotta find them!" Astrid exclaimed as she, Nava and Fishlegs threw aside rocks only to dig through more. Fishlegs kept throwing his rocks into Meatlug's open jaws, allowing her to eat them. "Find who?" A voice asked. Everyone turned around or looked up to see Stoick riding on Thornado, Gobber riding on Sonica with Fengo and Namara flying beside them. Staring at the teens and their dragons, Stoick, Fengo and Namara realized that Hiccup and Aniu were not among them. "Son." Stoick whispered, fear gripping his heart. "Where's Aniu?" Namara asked desperately. "Where is our daughter?" Fengo asked, starting to worry. "In there." Nava squeaked out, pointing at the rock pile.

Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu walked across a narrow stone bridge into a small room filled with statues made out of gold and chests full of coins. Hiccup noticed a scroll on a pedestal and picked it up. "'This treasure was passed from father to son. I leave it to you, the next worthy one. For only a hiccup could get this far. From one to another, be proud of who you are.'" Hiccup read before opening the scroll. It showed a picture of Hamish the Second and his father but instead of Hamish the Second being bulky and brawny, he was small and scrawny just like Hiccup himself.

'Whoa, Hamish the Second was a hiccup just like me. He knew only another one of us could find this place. Look at all this stuff. I guess being a hiccup isn't so bad after all." Hiccup said in amazement. "See, Hiccup. Your strength purifies your weakness. Your intelligence purifies your lack of physical strength. It doesn't matter if you can't use a weapon as long as you have brains and friends by your side." Aniu said happily.

"Yeah." Hiccup said softly before the pedestal sunk into the ground and two more rose up on either side of it. One held a feather and the other one held a hammer. "Wow, so Hamish the Second really did like pedestals." Hiccup said before noticing some writing at his feet. "And apparently riddles." Aniu said. _"It's so obvious that this guy liked riddles because of all the ones we had to solve."_ Toothless said.

"'In between the body and mind, a choice must be made on what you find. At this moment you must look to yourself as only one path will give you true wealth.'" Hiccup read before the cavern started to collapse. "Oh, come on, Hamish. You're killing us." Hiccup groaned before looking at the pedestals and making his decision.

Outside, Stoick, Fengo, Namara and Gobber joined the teens in throwing aside rocks. "Keep digging, that's my son in there." Stoick grunted. Then Fengo and Namara heard rumbling, looked around and saw the ground a few metres away collapsing. "Hiccup." Stoick whispered, running over to it with Fengo and Namara close behind.

The first thing they saw was Hiccup holding a feather and Aniu sheltering under Toothless's wings."Son!" Stoick called out in relief. "Hey, Dad." Hiccup said before running up to his father who gave him a big hug. "Hey, Mum. Hey, Dad." Aniu said upon seeing her parents. Fengo and Namara immediately embraced their daughter, wrapping their wings around her.

"Uh, Dad. I can't breathe." Hiccup gasped out. "Mum, Dad. You're strangling me." Aniu squeaked out. Stoick, Fengo and Namara let go of their children. Astrid promptly ran up to Hiccup and gave him a hug. "You nearly gave me a heart attack." She whispered into her boyfriend's ear. "I'm sorry, Astrid. Really, I am sorry." Hiccup said when Astrid leaned back to give him a look. Nava instantly ran up to Aniu and gave her a hug. "You have no idea how worried I was." He whispered into his girlfriend's pointed ear. "Sorry, Nava." Aniu whispered, enjoying the feeling of Nava's arms and wings wrapped around her.

"What happened?" Fishlegs asked once Hiccup and Astrid, Aniu and Nava parted from their hugs. "Blah, blah, blah, who cares? Where's the treasure?" Snotlout asked eagerly. Hiccupp showed everyone the picture of the real Hamish the Second and his father. "This is Hamish's real son." Aniu told everyone, pointing at the portrait. "That's not treasure." Snotlout said in disappointment. "To a father it is. Look, I never meant to make you feel like you had to do something like this." Stoick said.

"I know, Dad. But I had to do it for myself. " Hiccup said before he and his father embraced once again. Snotlout watched this with slight jealousy. Why couldn't he have this relationship with his own father? Spitelout was always trying to make his son into what he believed was the perfect, ideal Viking.

* * *

 **'** **I spent most of my life trying to prove to my dad that I can be his type of Viking."**

Vikings gathered in the Great Hall to stare at the repainted Hamish portrait that showed Hamish the Second for what he truly was. Bucket took the previous Haddock portrait off the wall and replaced it with a portrait that showed Hiccup as his true self and Stoick with an arm around his son's shoulders and a proud smile on his face.

 **"** **As it turns out, I already was."**

Hiccup smiled at the portrait and felt a hand being laid on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Stoick looking down at him with a proud and loving expression on his face. "Your mother would be so proud of you." Stoick whispered to Hiccup. He knew in his heart that Valka would be so proud of the man their son had become.

"Hey, Hiccup!" Aniu's voice yelled out. Hiccup and Stoick turned around and saw Aniu pull a sheet off a portrait with him, Aniu, Astrid, Nava, Toothless and Stormfly painted on it. Astrid and Aniu were standing on either side of Hiccup and Aniu had a hand on Hiccup's shoulder while Astrid had an arm around his waist. Toothless was standing beside them proudly while Nava and Stormfly were in the background. Hiccup smiled at them, proud and happy that he had such great and loyal friends.

 ***'Occipital' means the back of the head or skull.**

 **Freya is actually the Norse goddess of love, beauty and destiny. Not fire.**

 **Wolf piles are what I call dog piles and in the Alpha and Omega movie, they called dog piles wolf piles.**

 **I pray for the victims of attacks in Paris and in other countries and states caused by ISIS and wish the war would stop soon. There were many innocent people there who didn't deserve to die or have their families torn apart by the tragedies.**

 **In my high school, all the year twelves have graduated. Big cheers for them. I'm a bit jealous. Still got a couple more years left of school. At least the Christmas holidays are coming in three weeks.**

 **This chapter was twelve pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **This story was updated: 22.11.2015 Australian Time**


	9. Dragon Flower

_"_ _Dragon's speaking"_

 _'_ _telepathical speaking_ _'_

 _Thinking_

 **"** **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Dragon Flower**

 **"** **Berk is a small island in the middle of nowhere."**

Hiccup sat at his desk in his room while Aniu perched on the rafters in her Barn Owl form watching him and Toothless was curled up on his stone bed. Hiccup was drawing a picture of his beloved Night Fury in his notebook and dipped his quill into the ink pot only for it to come out empty. He checked the ink pot and saw that no more ink was inside it. "Looks like I'm out of ink, guys." Hiccup said. "Trader Johann should get here soon." Aniu said, spreading her wings and flying down to perch on Hiccup's desk. Hiccup gently stroked her head feathers.

 **"** **So when we get a taste of something new..."**

A large ship steadily approached the docks of Berk Village. Bucket was out in his boat on a solo fishing trip when he saw it. "Trader Johann's here! Trader Johann's...aah!" Bucket yelled before accidently capsizing his boat. Traders like Johann only came every two months or so. So this was an occasion that everyone was looking forward to.

 **"** **...we tend to go a little overboard."**

Trader Johann's ship docked and Vikings gathered around in excitement.

 **"** **Unfortunately new isn't always good."**

A gangplank was lowered and Trader Johann himself appeared. "Ah, Berk! My favourite of all the islands I travel to." He exclaimed. "Where have you been this time, Trader Johann?" Bucket asked eagerly. "Oh, Bucket. The things I've seen, the people I've met. I'd need a week to regale you. But alas, we have limited time to conduct our business together." Johann said, turning to the crowd of Vikings eagerly waiting to get onto the ship. "Whatever it is you're looking for, I assure you, you'll find it here!" He announced.

Vikings immediately scrambled onto the ship, searching for the things they wanted or just browsing around. "It's all mine. I call dibs on everything." Snotlout said. "I've got food of all sorts, spices, exotic animals..." Johann exclaimed. Tuffnut stopped to look at a moving bag. "Oh, it that one moving?" He asked, reaching out to touch it only to get a big surprise when spikes erupted from it. "Whoa!" Tuffnut yelled, moving on to look at something else. Namara's emerald green eyes lit up when she found a sack full of medical equipment. Fengo was examining some trinkets from other places. "Hey, is this thing from the Kingdom of Alanoria*?" He asked, pointing at something. "Indeed it is, good sir. Oh, are you a guardian?" Trader Johann said. "Yep, I am. My wife, daughter and a family friend moved here a like six months or so ago. And how much does this trinket here cost?" Fengo said. "Depends on what you want to trade for it." Trader Johann said.

Fengo took a pendant in the shape of a Monstrous Nightmare (which was his dragon form) out of his pocket. The chain was made out of low quality gold and the dragon shape was made out of bronze with emeralds for eyes. "Forged it by myself. I had to collect the bronze, gold and emeralds from the blacksmith's and use my own magic to shape it together." Fengo said. "It's beautiful. I know a girl from the kingdom of Alanoria who would love this. Ah, the royal family are very kind, welcoming people." Trader Johann said, taking the necklace and giving Fengo the trinket which was a flag of the kingdom's symbol. The symbol was a red rose in the centre with a pattern of golden stars and white half-moon shapes arching above it. One half of the flag was deep blue while the other half was deep green.

"Hey, Dad. What did you get?" Aniu asked her father. Fengo showed her the flag trinket. "Cool. Sounds like a pretty good kingdom. Maybe, we could visit there one day." Aniu said. Fengo chuckled and ruffled his daughter's golden-brown hair, ignoring her pout. Nava was looking at a pile of books. "This looks interesting." He said, skimming through the pages of a book he was holding.

"Works of art, jewellery, not to mention knowledge." Trader Johann continued while Gobber picked up a prosthetic hand covered in jingle bells. He could use this thing for next Snoggletog since his other one got stolen by a bunch of baby dragons. "Trader Johann, is this your only book of botany?" Fishlegs asked the trader. "Yes, Mister Fishlegs. Why, it was given to me by the author himself." Johann said happily.

"Would you take this necklace? It's made from baby dragon teeth." Fishlegs said, holding up a dragon-fanged necklace. "Fair enough, Mister Fishlegs." Trader Johann said, taking the necklace. Snotlout picked up a mirror and examined his reflection. "Whoo, I'm even better looking than I thought." He said, staring at his reflection with the vanity of a peacock. Astrid twirled a mace in her hands and rolled her eyes with a groan when Snotlout waggled his eyebrows at her flirtatiously.

Then she heard a sigh. "You okay there, Gobber?" She asked. "I'm better than okay, I'm in Valhalla." Gobber sighed, holding a piece of purple silk and rubbing it against his face. Hiccup found a jar of ink and held it up. "Oh, that's pure squid ink, Hiccup. Wrestled from the colossal squid of the northern waters." Johann informed him. "Well, how about this spy glass? You know I made it by myself." Hiccup said, taking a spyglass out of his satchel. "I know, you've given me five just like that one. Unfortunately, I have only two eyes. What else have you got?" the trader said.

"What do you think of this winch? It'll help you pull up your gangplank." Hiccup asked, giving Johann the small object and letting him test it out. "A welcome tool for a working man's ailing shoulders. Consider it done." Johann said, rubbing his sore shoulder. Stoick was testing out a sword by swinging it around.

"Wow, another sword...just what we need." Hiccup said sarcastically. "If you must know, it's not for me. I'm heading off to my yearly meeting with Anglo the Mighty**, chief of the Shivering Shores. The last man who showed up without a gift, left without a head. Johann, what will you take in trade?" Stoick said.

"Stoick! It is but your good graces that I desire when my humble ship passes through Berk." Johann exclaimed. "You'll always be welcome on our shores. I'll be back in five days. Wait, what am I saying? I'll be back in two thanks to Thornado." Stoick chuckled, climbing onto his Thunderdrum's back. Thornado was eager to try out his new saddle and was raring to go. "Up, Thornado." Stoick ordered. The blue Thunderdrum flew into the sky and out of sight. "Ah, men riding dragons. What a magnificent sight." Trader Johann sighed.

"Johann!" A familiar, grumpy old voice snapped. "Mildew!" Johann exclaimed. "Did you bring what I want?" Mildew asked impatiently. "Always straight to the point, I like that." Johann said, showing Mildew the contents of a few baskets. The old man examined them and nodded in satisfaction. "I assume you brought my cabbage as payment." The trader said. Mildew gestured to the basket full of cabbage at his feet. Trader Johann picked the basket up, sniffed it and sighed in satisfaction. "Take these to my house." Mildew ordered him rudely, walking away.

Then a curious Terrible Terror started sniffing at the baskets and trying to eat the contents. "Now, now, little fella, that's not for you." Johann said, reaching out for the dragon but it tried to bite him, not wanting to leave. "Feisty little one, isn't he?" the trader grabbed the little dragon's tail and throwing it aside. Toothless did not like that at all and snarled at Johann, advancing on the trader. "Safe distance, please." Trader Johann said nervously, trying to stop Toothless from getting any closer. "Toothless, no."Hiccup said, stopping his dragon. "Sorry, Johann, he's just being protective." Johann sighed in relief.

Hiccup looked down and noticed that the ink jar had been smashed when Toothless lunged at Trader Johann. "Oh, it's gone." Hiccup muttered in disappointment. "Oh, sorry, lad. That was my last one. But rest assured, I'll find the colossal squid and wrestle you another bottle." Trader Johann said. _"Sorry, Hiccup."_ Toothless said, despite knowing his rider couldn't understand him.

* * *

In the Berk Dragon Training Academy, Tuffnut pushed a stone statue of a Viking he had purchased from Johann's ship into the centre of the arena. The other Dragon Trainer were there too. "How does that look?" Tuffnut asked his sister. "Beautiful." Ruffnut answered. "You got them just for the academy?" Hiccup asked. "Yeah, we got them from Trader Johann. We had to give him our great-grandfather's skull but we got to keep his clavicle." Tuffnut told him. "Did you know that a clavicle is the bone that connects your chestbone to your shoulder bone and it's also known as a collarbone?" Aniu asked.

"Yep, we knew that. We're not as dumb as everyone thinks we are." Ruffnut said. "It's about time you guys started taking some pride in this place." Hiccup said before Tuffnut unexpectedly yelled "Duck!"

"What?" Hiccup and Aniu asked before themselves to the ground as Barf and Belch fired at the statue. "That was awesome. I'm gonna take a shot. Fire!" Snotlout yelled, leaping onto his Monstrous Nightmare's saddle. Hookfang spat fire at the statue, knocking it backwards slightly. Stormfly screeched and fired some tail spines at the statue. Meatlug spat out a lava blast, Aniu turned into her dragon form and let out a green plasma blast followed by a normal fire blast. Nava turned into his dragon form and spat a magnesium fire blast, followed by some tail spines and a normal fire blast. All the attacks hit the statue and it was Toothless's turn.

"Go for it, Toothless!" Aniu cheered the Night Fury on. Toothless revved up a plasma blast but sneezed at the last second, missing the statue with a very weak plasma blast. The Night Fury sneezed again and his second (equally weak) plasma blast exploded above Snotlout's head. "That's strange." Hiccup said. "Hey, couldn't you have your dragon cover his mouth when he sneezes?" Snotlout asked angrily. "I'm sorry, but that's never happened before." Hiccup replied. Toothless let out another sneeze, scorching the ground with another weak plasma blast. Hiccup stared at his dragon in concern. "Are you okay, Toothless?" Aniu telepathically asked the Night Fury in concern. _"I'm fine."_ Toothless said, even though he didn't feel or look okay.

* * *

After everyone left the Academy, Toothless, Stormfly, Aniu and Nava went for a flight around Berk with Hiccup and Astrid riding on their dragon's backs. "Look at those flowers! They're beautiful." Astrid gushed, staring at the ground. "They must've been planted recently." Nava said before Toothless sneezed again and lost control of his flight pattern.

"Whoa, hey! What are you doing?" Astrid exclaimed. "It's not me. Whoa!" Hiccup yelled as Toothless crash-landed, throwing Hiccup off his back and onto the ground. "Toothless, are you okay, bud?" Hiccup asked, kneeling beside his dragon. _"I'm not so sure anymore."_ Toothless groaned. "Maybe, we should take him home." Nava said. "Maybe he's got a cold. Do dragons get colds?" Hiccup said. "I'm not sure and I don't think Toothless has a cold, it seems to be something worse than that." Aniu said, placing her hands on either side of Toothless's scaly head. _"_ _Are you alright, Toothless?"_ Stormfly asked, kneeling beside the Night Fury. _"_ _I don't think so, Storm."_ Toothless told the sky blue Deadly Nadder.

"Whoa, look at that." Astrid said, staring at a very sick looking Terrible Terror flying clumsily through the sky. The little dragon crashed onto the ground and weakly coughed out flames. It was the same Terror who had sniffed and tried to eat what Mildew had purchased. Astrid gently picked it up. "Whatever it is, looks like he's got it too." She said. They ended up taking Toothless home and asked Gobber for help. Namara was helping a Zippleback who had gotten a large thorn stuck in its paw.

"This will fix him right up." Gobber said cheerfully, standing over a cauldron full of a vile green substance. "What is that stuff?" Hiccup asked, tending to Toothless along with Aniu. The Night Fury's stone bed had been brought downstairs and Toothless was curled up on it. "It's best not to ask. Whatever you do, don't touch it." Gobber said, picking the cauldron up and setting it down in front of Toothless who sneezed, accidently spraying Gobber and the cauldron with dragon snot.

"Ah, well, that's ruined. I'll never get that yak to vomit again." Gobber muttered angrily. "There was yak vomit in that stuff?" Aniu asked in disgust. Then the door slammed open and Astrid and Nava ran in. "Hiccup, Aniu, you've gotta see this." Astrid gasped out. "The dragons...they're really sick." Nava said.

Hiccup and Aniu ran outside and the Thorston twins and Snotlout struggling to control their dragons who were flying very erratically. "Easy, easy. Whoa!" Snotlout exclaimed as Hookfang crashed. Barf and Belch crashed down seconds later. "Help her, guys! She's sick! And I'm about to be." Fishlegs screamed as Meatlug spun around uncontrollably and crashed to the ground. Fishlegs fell of her looking green in the face. Arrow, Firesnow. Clobbertail, Lefa and Rila were also very sick. Their hatchlings were in the same state. Everywhere they looked, the village dragons were in various degrees of distress.

"It's spreading to all of the dragons." Aniu said. "How do we stop this?" Hiccup asked. "Gothi and Namara! They'll know what to do!" Gobber exclaimed. Aniu and Nava flew up to Gothi's house and told the elder what was going on. She agreed to come with them right away. Namara came back when Gothi (who had ridden on Aniu's back when the guardian was in her dragon form), Aniu and Nava flew in and landed. They told her about what was happening and Namara and Gothi began examining Toothless.

"What's wrong with him, Mum?" Aniu asked her mother. "The truth is, I don't know, sweetie. In all my years as a healer, I never came across something like what Toothless and the other dragons are experiencing. Perhaps Gothi may have an idea." Namara told her daughter. Gothi took some small bones out of her pocket, shook them and threw the bones onto the ground. The elder stared at the bones. "I heard Gothi can tell when you're going to die just by looking at your fingernails." Astrid said."Ah, that's just an old wives tale, she looks at your tongue." Gobber said.

Gothi started drawing in a dirt patch with her staff. Gobber stood behind her so he could translate. "She says they're reacting to something, like they're allergic." He said. "Allergic? To what?" Hiccup asked. Gothi wrote in the dirt again. "To a moose wearing boots. Eh, shouldn't be hard to find." Gobber said before smacked him in the face with her staff. "I didn't think that was right. Ah, they're allergic to something new that's just come to the island but that still looks like a moose. Ow." Gobber said and Gothi hit him again.

"Well, there a re a lot of new things on the island. Trader Johann was just here." Astrid said. Gothi scribbled in the dirt with her staff again. "She says to get rid of everything immediately. Otherwise, it's just going to get worse. The dragons are going to get sicker." Gobber interpreted. Hiccup and Aniu gave Toothless anxious looks and hugged the Night Fury tightly. After that, it was time for dinner. Nava usually had dinner at Fengo, Namara and Aniu's house and this night was no different.

"I hope the dragons are going to get better." Aniu said, staring at the chicken quarter on her plate. "I'm sure the dragons will be a full health again soon." Namara said, placing a hand on her daughter's. "The sooner we find out what's causing this, the sooner everything will be okay." Nava said optimistically. "I heard we have to get rid of everything we brought from Johann and bury it in a pit." Fengo said. "Yeah, we do, Dad." Fengo sighed and began looking for a chest big enough to put the Alanorian flag trinket in. Namara got up and began searching for a chest to put her new medical equipment in. Nava and Aniu were left alone at the table and Nava gently put his hand on Aniu's shoulder. They continued eating in silence until Fishlegs ran in. "Aniu, Nava! There's something wrong with Meatlug, Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie!" He exclaimed anxiously. Aniu and Nava got up and ran out the door after him.

But they never noticed Heep step out from his hiding place. After failing with the avalanche and freezing the Night Fury's fake tailfin, he decided to do something different. Moving stealthily over to Nava's cup of water, he removed a vial from his pocket, took off the lid and added a few drops of poison into the cup. The poison blended into the water and Heep left. By the time Aniu and Nava got back and Fengo and Namara found what they were looking for, he was long gone and no one knew he was there. Not knowing any better, Nava took a drink from his cup, said goodbye to Aniu and her parents and went back to his room in Astrid's house. He was only living there until his parents arrived from Guardian Island where they were busy tying up loose ends and a house could be built for them.

* * *

The next morning, villagers lined up at the freshly dug pit with the stuff they had bought from Trader Johann. "I know this is hard, guys but I promise you, you're doing a good thing. You're helping the dragons." Hiccup said. "It's the least we could do for them." Astrid added. "Goodbye, beautiful." Snotlout said sadly, staring at his mirror before throwing it into the pit. Fishlegs was hastily flicking through the pages of his book, trying to absorb as much information as he could. "What are you doing? Throw it in." Ruffnut said. "I'm sorry, but this botany book is a real page-turner. I gotta know how it ends." Fishlegs said. Ruffnut grabbed the book and threw it into the pit. Silently mourning the loss of his book, Fishlegs went home to check on Meatlug and her family.

Nava and Aniu stood watching everyone. "Nava, are you okay?" Aniu asked, seeing how sick her boyfriend was looking. "I don't know. I woke up this morning feeling sick." Nava groaned. "Maybe you should go home and lie down." Aniu said. "No, I might stay here." Nava said despite how sick he was feeling. Aniu turned around to watch Gobber, Hiccup and Astrid. "I didn't see you throw anything in the pit and I thought I saw you buy something from Trader Johann." She heard Hiccup say. "He did. He brought silk." Astrid said. "Hand it over, Gobber." Hiccup ordered sternly. Aniu turned around to watch other people and didn't hear what Gobber said next. When she turned around again, Gobber was walking away and Hiccup was saying, "I could've gone my whole life without seeing that."

Everyone went home for lunch and Nava joined Aniu and her parents again. "If this works, then the dragons should be up on their feet and flying around again soon." Fengo said. Nava had finished his lunch and gotten up from the table but felt a wave of dizziness and stumbled. "Nava, are you okay?" Namara asked in concern. Nava shook his head, the action making the dizziness worse. "I don't think so. I'm feeling...really...dizzy...all of...a sudden." He managed to say before the dizziness grew worse and he collapsed. "Nava!" Aniu, Fengo and Namara exclaimed, kneeling beside him. Namara checked Nava's temperature and it was high. His face was a sickly pale colour. "His breathing's raspy and his heart rate is slower than normal but showing no signs of slowing down." Namara said.

"What's wrong with him?" Aniu asked in concern. "I don't know. We need to put him in a bed in a room so we can watch over him." Namara said. "He can sleep in my room, it's got enough room for another bed in there." Aniu said. "I'll get his bed from the Hofferson house." Fengo said and went outside. Aniu and Namara heard his wingbeats fade away and carried Nava into Aniu's room and gently put him on Aniu's bed. Aniu turned into her Barn Owl form, perched beside Nava beside on her bed and gently ran her beak through her boyfriend's silver-blonde hair.

Not knowing what happened with Nava, Hiccup woke up from a short nap and looked at Toothless who was lying on his stone bed. "Hey, how about we go out flying? Maybe that will make you feel better." He said. The Night Fury weakly raised his head, looked at his rider and accidently sneezed. Hiccup gasped and ducked as a small plasma blast scorched the bedpost. The boy sighed, it looked like his beloved dragon was still sick.

"Poor guys." Astrid said, kneeling beside Stormfly in the Nadder family's den in the Hofferson house's attic. Arrow was curled up beside his mate and Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet were sleeping in their nests. All of them were sick. "Can't get comfortable, huh? I know what will help." The blonde shield maiden got up and started to walk downstairs. But she had to duck when Stormfly accidently shot tail spines and Arrow accidently sneezed out a blast of magnesium fire at her. Both Deadly Nadder's crooned apologies. "It's alright, you two. I'm a soldier. I've been shot at before." Astrid assured them before sitting down beside the three young Deadly Nadders and stroking their scales. "Hopefully these three will be perfectly healthy when it's time for them to learn how to fly. Oh, that's really soon!" Astrid said. Arrow crooned weakly and Astrid gently rubbed his emerald green facial scales.

In the Ingerman family house, Fishlegs was rubbing Meatlug's hind paws and telling the four Gronckles a story. "Once upon a time, there was a little princess named Meatlug, the most beautiful dragon in all the land. She had a handsome mate named Clobbertail and two wonderful hatchlings named Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie. People would come from miles around to..." That was when Meatlug let out a fart. Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie gave their mother a look while Fishlegs tried not to smell it. "No, it's okay, girl. Smells just like rose petals and...uhhh." He tried to assure his dragon but fainted.

The riders ended up taking their dragons outside. "We got rid of everyone from Trader Johann but our dragons still aren't getting better, they're getting worse." Fishlegs said anxiously. "Well, let's make a list. Maybe there's somebody who has bought something from Trader Johann but hasn't thrown it into the pit." Hiccup said. "Yeah, there must've been somebody who didn't want to given up what they bought." Astrid agreed. "If I find out who was holding back, I am gonna be so mad, Hookfang and his family were so sick, I was up all night scraping dragon barf off the walls. And Firesnow accidently nearly set the room on fire." Snotlout said angrily.

"Yeah, well, Barf and Belch are dead and LefaRila and BoomerBanger are dying!" Tuffnut exclaimed. Everyone present let out huge gasps. "Just kidding! But, they're barely moving anymore." Tuffnut said hastily. The sight and sound of the three Zippleback's breathing calmed everyone down slightly. "They just sit there. They won't blow anything up." Ruffnut said. Aniu walked up to them. "Hey, guys." She said, sounding upset and tired. "Hey, Aniu. Where's Nava?" Hiccup asked. "Nava told me he was feeling sick this morning and he collapsed when we were eating lunch. He's just woken up and Mum thinks he's been poisoned." Aniu told them. "Is Nava okay?" Astrid asked, her voice trembling. "He's fine right now, but he's still feeling sick and dizzy." Aniu said.

Hiccup was about to say something when a dragon's roar and his father's voice was heard. "Hiccup, put this in the Book of Dragons: Never fly on a stomach full of undercooked mutton. The Shivering Shores will never be the same." Stoick said as Thornado landed beside the cave where he and Sonica lived. Then, the chief saw the sick dragons and the anxious teens. "What is it? What's wrong?" He asked in concern.

"It's the dragons, Dad. They're sick and getting worse." Hiccup said. Astrid put a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder for emotional support. "Every dragon?" Stoick asked. "Nava's sick too, we think he's been poisoned." Aniu said sadly. Stoick frowned. This was sounding very bad.

* * *

That night, Stoick put a few logs into the fire pit that Fengo had ignited. Thornado had discovered that his mate was also sick and was staying with her. "Poor guy. What do you think happened?" He asked, kneeling beside Toothless. "I don't know. Gothi says they're allergic to something new to the island but we think we've gotten rid of everything." Hiccup said.

"But if the dragons aren't getting better..." Stoick began. "...then something must still be here that's making them sick." Hiccup finished. Then Hiccup, Stoick and Aniu heard a sneeze. They ran outside and saw that Thornado had also gotten sick. The Thunderdrum let out another sneeze and Stoick pushed Hiccup and Aniu aside before they were hit by a sonic blast.

"Sneezing, that's the first symptom." Aniu said. "But he was fine until we got back." Stoick said. "Um, we should retrace your steps." Hiccup said. "I'll go and get the others." Aniu hollered and ran off. Soon, she came back with the Dragon Riders and Stoick walked over to the Thunderdrum's cave. "Well, this is where I landed." He said. "Well, let's look around for anything unusual." Hiccup said. "Does that count?" Fishlegs asked, pointing at the Thorston twins who were in the middle of a head-butting contest.

"I'm seeing stars." Ruffnut said. "No way, me too." Tuffnut replied. "Hmm, nothing unusual here. What is it?" Astrid asked, seeing Hiccup and Aniu staring at a bush of flowers. Both teens walked over to the bush and Hiccup plucked a flower. "Ah, does anyone ever remember seeing these flowers before?" he asked. "They were here when I got back." Stoick said. "Astrid said something about them before Toothless crashed the first time." Aniu said. Fishlegs took the flower out of Hiccup's hand.

"It looks an awful lot like the Blue Oleander. I recognize it from my botany book. Chapter 8." He said. "Is there anything specific you can remember?" Hiccup asked. "They're very beautiful, very soft, perennial...and poisonous to reptiles!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "Which means poisonous to dragons!" Hiccup exclaimed. Fishlegs threw the flower away as if it had burned him. "This is serious. Did your book say anything about a cure?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know, because somebody made me throw into a pit." Fishlegs said. "Well, go and dig it up!" Aniu snapped, worry over the dragons and Nava making her nearly lose control of herself. Fishlegs ran off. "I don't understand, where did these flowers even come from?" Astrid asked. "Mildew. I saw him plant them the other night." Tuffnut said. "And you didn't think that was strange?" Astrid and Aniu asked, crossing their arms and glaring at Tuffnut.

"No. Well, maybe. I don't know, quit pressuring me!" Tuffnut exclaimed, looking away from the two girls angry looks. Thornado let out another sneeze and Stoick ducked. "Well, let's go and pay the old man a visit." He said, straightening his helmet.

"Well, so what if I planted some flowers? The town square has never looked better. I was merely trying to spread some beauty and happiness." Mildew said after Stoick, Hiccup, Astrid and Aniu knocked on his door and told him about the flowers. "Since when have you cared about beauty or happiness?" Astrid asked rudely.

"We all know how selfish you are Mildew so cut the act." Aniu hissed. "You did this." Hiccup said, glaring at Mildew. Stoick listened to and watched the teen's exchanges with Mildew. "What? Me?" Mildew feigned shock. "Well, I had no inkling that these flowers had special properties. It's true I'm no friend of the dragons but in this case on my life, I wasn't trying to harm them. "Mildew defended himself. Stoick decided enough had been said and ushered the teens out the door. "Let's go." He said. Before they were out of earshot, Aniu heard Mildew sneer "Ah, the poor, poor dragons." She thought about giving him another punch in the near future.

They went back to the town square and Fishlegs ran over to them with his botany book clutched in large hand. "Looks like you found your botany book." Aniu said. "What does it say?" Astrid asked. But poor Fishlegs looked like he was about to cry. "Calm down, take a deep breath and talk to us." Hiccup said. "My botany book says that blue oleanders are poisonous to reptiles and dragons are reptiles." Fishlegs spoke. "We know that. Was there anything else?" Aniu asked gently.

Fishlegs put the botany book in his pocket, took out the Book of Dragons and opened it. "Not in here but I remembered the Book of Dragons talked about a dragon that feeds on the blue oleander. It's called the Scauldron. In a perfect world, if it eats the flowers, maybe its venom can be used as a antidote like with snakes and spiders. But alas, we do not live in a perfect world." Fishlegs showed them the page with a picture of a Scauldron on it. "Look, the Scauldron has no venom."

"No, but it looks cool." Tuffnut said, staring at the picture. "Don't you understand, the book says no venom!" Fishlegs exclaimed, close to freaking out. "Okay, got it, no venom. Golly, write it on your forehead." Tuffnut said. "The book is wrong!" Gobber said as he dramatically stepped out the forge. "I've dealt with a Scauldron before. They're sixty-feet long with razor-sharp teeth. It'll shoot boiling hot water that melts the flesh from your bones. The Scauldron has no fear, no conscience. But what a Scauldron does have is venom and lots of it."

The Thorston twins stared at him along with everyone else. "I'm out." Tuffnut said flatly, walking away. "I'm with him." Ruffnut said, following her brother. Just then, Fengo and Namara flew in. "Mum, Dad, how's Nava?" Aniu asked desperately. "Did you find out what he's been poisoned with?" Hiccup asked. "Nava has gotten a bit worse and we found out that poison he was infected with has an antidote and that is Scauldron venom." Namara said. "Well, it turns out that we need Scauldron venom to cure the dragons." Aniu said.

"Alright, you guys stay here and take care of the dragons." Hiccup said. "What are you gonna do?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "Dad, Gobber, Fengo, Namara, Aniu, let's go find ourselves a Scauldron." Hiccup said. "I thought you'd never ask!" Gobber exclaimed. Hiccup and Aniu glanced at each other and narrowed their eyes in determination. But before they left, Hiccup and Stoick went to check on their dragons while Aniu went to check on Nava.

"Look at that thing." Hiccup whispered, staring at the picture of the Scauldron in the Book of Dragons. He knelt down beside Toothless. "You just hold on, bud. I'll be back before you know it." Hiccup said, stroking his Night Fury's head.

Aniu walked into her room and saw Nava lying on his bed. "Are you okay, Nava?" She asked gently. Nava coughed weakly. "I don't know if I'm okay or not." He rasped out. Aniu sighed. "Mum and Dad learned the antidote to what you were poisoned with is Scauldron venom. We're going out to find a Scauldron and harvest its venom." She gave the news. Nava sighed in relief. "That's good…" He managed to say before his face turned green and he vomited into the bucket beside his bed which Namara had put there just in case he needed it. "Mum! Dad! Nava just vomited!" Aniu screamed.

Fengo and Namara ran upstairs followed by Astrid's parents, Ingrid and Arthur Hofferson. "We have to get that Scauldron venom as soon as possible." Namara said. "My husband and I will stay here and watch over him until you return." Ingrid said. "Thank you, Mrs Hofferson." Aniu sighed in relief. "Just call me Arthur and her Ingrid, young one." Arthur said.

"How's my dragon warriors?" Stoick asked Thornado and Sonica. Both Thunderdrums let out low, weak croons. Stoick placed two rolled-up blankets under both tidal dragons chins. Thornado and Sonica gave him grateful looks. "I spent my entire life trying to kill dragons now look at me." Stoick sighed. He stood up and saw his son behind him. "Dad, it's time. The boat's ready." Hiccup said. Stoick glanced at his Thunderdrums and Fengo, Namara and Aniu flew up to them.

Around two hours later, they were in a boat out on an open sea with Mildew and two sailors. "This is an outrage! I dug up all the flowers, I did my part." Mildew complained. "We're all out here because of you, Mildew. If we have to put our lives at risk, then so do you." Stoick snapped. "You have no proof, Stoick. You can't blame me every time something goes amiss with your precious dragons." Mildew sneered and stomped off. "That guy really needs to shipped off the island so we won't have to put up with him all the time." Aniu muttered. "Yeah, if we put him on a dragon-less island it is a win-win." Hiccup whispered back.

"All right, Stoick. What's the plan?" Gobber asked, holding a bucket with a lid over it. "Hiccup, Aniu, when Gobber, Fengo, Namara and I secure the Scauldron's head, Sven will wedge its jaws open, we'll need you two to…" Stoick said, giving his son the bucket. "…drain the venom into this bucket, sail back to Berk and administer the antidote, got it." Hiccup and Aniu said.

"Very well then. Let's get started." Fengo said, clapping his hands together. Aniu picked up a basket full of blue oleander flowers and held them over the side of the boat. "This is what Scauldrons eat. It'll draw them to the boat." Hiccup said and began brushing out the flowers into the water, leaving a trail. An hour passed and there was no sign of a Scauldron. Mildew made his impatience known by yelling "Ah, this is not working. It was a stupid idea to begin with!"

Hiccup and Aniu glared at him. Fengo and Namara looked like they were going to give the old man a piece of their minds. "Easy, you four. That's not why we're here." Stoick calmed them down. "But that is." Gobber said, staring at the water. Everyone looked and saw a large, dark shape swimming around them. "Scauldron." Stoick and Fengo whispered. Its tail and head rose out of the water briefly.

"I may need to go to the toilet again." Gobber muttered. "We need to lure the Scauldron up on deck." Hiccup said, spreading some flowers out on the ground. "Oh, that's a great idea. Get it on the ship where it can have at us all!" Mildew snapped. "Gobber, Fengo, secure its neck with these!" Stoick ordered, throwing ropes with hooks attached to the two men. "Namara and I will lasso its horn."

The four adults got into position. "Where did it go?" Gobber asked. Everyone waited tensely in anticipation. Sven let out a startled yelp when his oar was plucked out of his hands and pulled into the water. A plume of water shot through the ocean's surface and hit the boat, sending it flying into the air. The Scauldron's head rose above the water, allowing everyone to get a good look at it. Mildew in particular screamed and ran away from it.

The great big Tidal class dragon put its front paws on the ship, causing it to tilt upwards and send people and objects sliding down in the Scauldron's direction. Hiccup and Aniu screamed as they slid down the deck as well. Their parents screamed their child's names and Stoick grabbed Hiccup while Fengo and Namara grabbed their daughter by her wings.

The Scauldron ate every blue oleander it could find and Stoick and Namara lassoed its nasal horn. Gobber and Fengo threw their hooked ropes around the Scauldron's neck. The boat fell back into its proper position. "We can't let it get back into the water." Stoick told his companions. "Oh, he's a strong one." Gobber grunted, struggling to keep the sea dragon's head above the water. "Sven, we need that barrel now!" Stoick shouted.

Sven walked forward with a large barrel in his hands. "I got the bucket!" Hiccup said loudly. "Careful son, you don't want to get that venom in you!" Stoick exclaimed. "Yes, I know, Dad. If I do, I'll be dead in less than twenty-four hours." Hiccup said. Sven successfully threw the barrel into the Scauldron's mouth, wedging its jaws open. "Haha!" Sven laughed in triumph. But he forgot about the tail. "Sven, look out!" Fengo shouted as the Scauldron shattered the barrel in its mouth and struck Sven with its tail, throwing him overboard. Fengo, who had ran forward to help Sven, got thrown overboard as well. "Fengo!"/ "Dad!" Namara and Aniu screamed.

Hiccup prepared the bucket in his hands and didn't notice the Scauldron's tail raise up behind him. Stoick however did notice and shoved Hiccup aside. The Scauldron's tail hit him instead. Stoick was barely able to pin the sea dragon's tail down. "I got its tail!" He alerted everyone. "Hiccup, Aniu, grab your dad's lines!" Gobber ordered. Hiccup and Aniu grabbed the ropes and looped them around a piece of wood. "Got it!" Both teens yelled.

"Pull it in! Use the mast to wench it jaws open!" Stoick shouted. Fengo and Sven climb back on board as Gobber, Namara, Hiccup and Aniu strained to pull the Scauldron's head forward and were barely able to get its jaws on both sides of the mast. Mildew was hiding behind the mast, doing absolutely nothing to make himself useful. "Mildew, grab the bucket!" Stoick yelled at him. "Hold on! It's one thing for me to..." The old man started to protest. "Grab the bucket or I'll throw you overboard myself!" Stoick shouted.

Mildew whimpered and glanced at the Scauldron's razor-sharp-toothed jaws on either side of him. Then, a whistling sound started from between the Scauldron's jaws as the sea dragon began to use its signature move. "Everyone, take cover!" Stoick yelled. Everyone ran to the nearest hiding places or found something they could shield themselves with. A large gush of boiling hot water spurted out from the Scauldron's mouth and knocked down the mast.

The ropes holding the Scauldron's nasal horn and neck snapped, allowing the sea dragon to free itself. Mildew saw the Scauldron staring at him, screamed and ran, not knowing he had a blue oleander flower stuck on the back of his tunic. The Scauldron lunged forward and bit Mildew's back (at least it wasn't his backside) as it grabbed the flower and swam away. The old man screamed in pain and dropped to the deck.

"It's gone." Hiccup and Aniu said sadly. "And you can cet the last place its coming back to is the ship." Gobber and Fengo muttered. "We didn't get the venom." Stoick and Namara sighed. Then, they all turned when they heard a scream and saw Mildew writhing on the ground, holding his back. "Yes, we did." Hiccup and Aniu grinned. "Get this poison out of me!" Mildew wailed. "Oh, we will." Hiccup said. "Karma's a monster, isn't it?" Fengo smirked. "You do something bad, it comes back to bite you." Namara grinned.

* * *

Back on Berk, Mildew was taken to the blacksmith's so Gobber and Namara could get the venom out of him. The dragon riders, Aniu and Fengo were waiting outside. "Can you believe we're all just standing around her waiting for something to come out of Mildew's back?" Tuffnut asked, enjoying Mildew's screams, cries and whimpers of pain.

In the forge, Gobber picked up an object. "Wait, wait, wait. Isn't there something smaller you can use?" Mildew asked, not wanting anymore pain. "Eh, probably." Gobber shrugged and stabbed Mildew with the tool to suck the venom out. The old man screamed in pain again. "That's the sound of our dragons and Nava getting better." Astrid smirked. Gobber walked outside carrying a jar full of the venom. "I've seen a Nadder's spine slice through a man's eyeball like a grape. I watched my own hand get devoured by a Monstrous Nightmare. And that old man needs to bath himself more often. Here, take this to your dragons and Nava." He said, giving the jar to Hiccup and walked away. "Thanks, Gobber!" Hiccup and Aniu called after the blacksmith and dragon dentist's retreating form. Gobber turned around, gave them a salute and walked away again.

Afterwards, Stoick paced outside Thornado and Sonica's cave and went inside his house. "Relax, Dad. It's gonna be okay." Hiccup said, stroking Toothless's head and waiting for the antidote to take its affect. Stoick sighed and went outside to check on the Thunderdrums again. "Dad, they're coming around." Hiccup said, walking outside with Toothless, who was at full health again. Inside the cave, Thornado and Sonica opened their eyes and walked outside. "Thornado! Sonica!" Stoick exclaimed, giving both Thunderdrums a rub on the heads. "How are you feeling, bud?" Hiccup asked, stroking Toothless on the head. The Night Fury shot a plasma blast into the sky. "Good to have you back, bud.' Hiccup said. Following Toothless's example, Thornado and Sonica let out sonic blasts.

In her house, Aniu paced around her room after Nava had been given the antidote. Slowly, Nava opened his sapphire blue eyes. "Aniu?" He asked. Aniu slowly spun around and saw her boyfriend sitting up in bed. Her emerald green eyes widened and she sat down on Nava's bed. "How are you feeling?" She asked. "Much better thanks to you." Nava said, smiling at her then he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Aniu smiled and gave Nava a hug. "Mum, Dad. Nava's alright now." She called down the stairs. "That's a relief." Her parents called back. Around the village, dragons were also healed.

The next morning, Hiccup was completing his drawing of Toothless in his notebook while Aniu perched on the rafters in her owl form.

 **"** **A deadly flower, a venomous sea dragon and Mildew's back. Three things I never thought I'd have to deal with in the same day but I'll do anything for dragon and friends."**

Hiccup looked up, smiled at Toothless and Aniu then looked out of his window. The dragon riders were riding their flying dragons with Nava following behind them.

 ***The Kingdom of Alanoria will show up in a future story after How to Train your dragon and guardian 2: Secret of the Ice Caves. (my retelling of How to Train your dragon 2).**

 ****The Shivering Shore's chief's name comes from guardiandragon98's fanfic story Dragons and Guardians. It's a How to Train Your Dragon and Rise of the Guardians crossover.**

 *****Heep was introduced in Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk episode 3: Animal House when Hiccup and his friends are sledding down the snowy mountain.**

 **This chapter was twelve pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 26.11.2015**


	10. Heather Report Part 1

_"_ _Dragon's speaking"_

 _'_ _telepathical speaking_ _'_

 _Thinking_

 **"** **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **Please read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Heather Report Part 1**

"Yeah! Come on, bud." Hiccup cheered his dragon on as the Night Fury flew at high speeds through the trees. "Come on, Toothless!"

"Here they come!" Astrid alerted the other dragon riders and Nava in the Academy while Fishlegs wrote down tally marks to record Toothless's speed. Toothless shot through the academy's entrance and landed, allowing Hiccup to dismount. "Yep, it's a new course record." Fishlegs said. "So how did we do?" Hiccup asked. "Technically, you're still the fastest."Nava said.

"But someone, and I won't mention who, is gaining significant ground." Fishlegs said. "What?" Hiccup asked. "Don't look at us." Tuffnut grunted as he and Ruffnut exchanged punches. Astrid was gently scratching Stormfly's chin and smiled calmly at her boyfriend. "How can Toothless be getting slower?" Hiccup asked, stroking Toothless's black scales. "He isn't, Hic. Stormfly's getting faster." Aniu said.

"Oh, really? Is that so? Anything you'd like to share, Astrid?" Hiccup said. "Let's just say I'm experimenting with Stormfly's diet." Astrid said. "And it's working, plus making you mad." Stormfly let out a burp and a cloud of fire. Then Snotlout and Hookfang flew into the arena. "You guys would not believe what I just found!" The Jorgenson boy exclaimed.

"A severed head?" Tuffnut guessed. "Our cousin Lars?" Ruffnut guessed. "Our cousin Lars's severed head?" Tuffnut made another guess. "Lars died?" Fishlegs squeaked. "Who said that?" Ruffnut asked. "Excuse me, do you guys want to see this or not?" Snotlout asked impatiently. The dragon riders saddled their dragons and followed Snotlout to a beach where a shipwreck lay.

"Huh, a wrecked boat on Berk? Yeah, that's something new." Tuffnut said sarcastically. "Just remember, I saw it first, so it's mine." Snotlout reminded them. "What's so special about a wrecked boat, Snotlout?" Aniu asked. "Or are you talking about something you found in it?" Nava asked. Snotlout nodded and showed the gang what was inside the boat. A teenage girl around their age with raven-black hair in a braid that rested on her shoulder and patched clothes was lying unconscious on the ground. There was a hollowed-out horn strapped to the girl's thigh.

"Wow, I really like her." Tuffnut said dreamily, staring at the girl. Aniu and Nava glanced at him, wondering if the male Thorston twin had a crush on the stranger. "Remember, I get to keep her." Snotlout said. "Snotlout, it's a person." Astrid hissed. "You don't keep a person, you welcome them." Nava whispered harshly. "Right, how lucky is that?" Snotlout whisper-exclaimed. "You disgust me, Astrid and women everywhere." Aniu said bluntly.

Hiccup crawled forward and gently shook the girl awake. "Uh, hey there." He said awkwardly, not really sure what to do or say. The girl woke up and raised her head, revealing forest green eyes. She looked at them, gasped and backed away. The girl started coughing and asked in a dehydrated voice "Do you have any water?" Tuffnut held out a water bottle and the girl accepted it gratefully.

"Where am I?" She asked. "This is Berk." Hiccup said. Then, Toothless poked his head in causing the girl to gasp and scoot backwards rapidly. "Don't be afraid. He won't hurt you. Come out. It's okay." Aniu said gently. The girl slowly crawled out of her shelter and stood up. Then she caught sight of Aniu and Nava's wings and pointed ears. "Are-are you two guardians?" She asked shyly. "Yeah, we are." Nava said softly.

The girl looked at Hiccup who was patting Toothless on the head. "How did you do that?" She asked. "That's nothing. Watch this." Snotlout said, trying to sound cool. "Hookfang, get your tail over here now!" Instead of going over to his rider, the Monstrous Nightmare flew away. "Ah, he'll be back. Jokester." Snotlout laughed nervously. "Oh and just so you know, I'm the one who rescued you."

"My name is Hiccup." Hiccup said. "I'm Heather. I'm sixteen." The girl introduced herself. "We're all sixteen too. I'm Aniu. My fellow guardian here is Nava." Aniu said. The other dragon riders introduced themselves as well. "So, Heather, what happened to you?" Astrid asked. Heather's eyes glazed over with sadness and she lowered her head. "My family and I were on our way home to our island when our boat was attacked by pirates." Heather said. "I want to be a pirate." Tuffnut said suddenly. Everyone stared at him in shock and a pale hand slapped Tuffnut on the shoulder.

"Hey! What was that for?" The male Thorston twin asked. "Tuffnut, she's obviously upset about the pirates attacking her family and you're saying that you want to be a pirate. Oh, for God's sake, show some sensitivity and sympathy." Nava snapped. Tuffnut had the grace to look ashamed of himself. "Or maybe I wanna be a fish cleaner. I'm still on the fence." He said.

Astrid cleared her throat and gestured to Heather. "You were saying?" She asked her. "They attacked our boat and took us back to our island, laying siege to it. I was able to escape but my mother and father weren't so lucky." Heather finished her story. "Stupid pirates! I definitely wanna be a fish cleaner." Tuffnut exclaimed, crossing his arms. "Hey, everything's going to be okay." Aniu said, laying a hand on Heather's shoulder. "My Dad's the chief. We'll figure something out." Hiccup said.

The riders walked back to their dragons. "I heard guardians can turn into dragons, is that true?" Heather asked shyly. "Yeah, we can." Nava said. "We'll show you if you like.' Aniu. When Heather nodded both Nava and Aniu turned into their dragon forms. "As you can see, my dragon form is a Deadly Nadder cross Monstrous Nightmare. I breathe both of those dragon's fire types." Nava said. "My dragon form is a Night Fury cross Monstrous Nightmare. I breathe both of those dragon's fire types just like what Nava does." Aniu said. "Wow." Heather breathed out in awe.

While this was happening, Astrid did a quick inspection on Heather's boat, just to be on the safe side. Then she saw the twins and Fishlegs leaving on their dragons and Heather chose to ride on Toothless. Astrid leapt onto Stormfly's saddle "Hey, don't forget we're meeting tomorrow to work on our times unless you want Stormfly to be the fastest dragon in the Academy." She said.

"Yeah, that's definitely not gonna happen. We will be there. Hang on, Heather." Hiccup said as Toothless, Aniu and Stormfly flew off, followed by Nava who was still in his dragon form. "Whoa!" Heather exclaimed in surprise. But Snotlout had been accidently left behind. "Um, hello? Can I get a ride with someone?" He yelled out, but when no one came back, he realized he would have to walk back home.

* * *

Hiccup, Toothless, Aniu and Nava gave Heather a quick tour of Berk before flying to the Haddock house where Heather would stay until things had been sorted out. "Alright, this way. Watch your step and here we are." Hiccup said, leading Heather into his room. "It's nice of your father to let me stay here." Heather said. "Well, until we can find you a safe place to go, consider Berk your home." Hiccup said.

"Wow, what are these? They're really cool." Heather said, staring at the pictures and various plans and designs Hiccup had drawn which were pinned up on his wall. "It's a new saddle for Toothless. We're trying to get some extra speed so we can stay ahead of Astrid and Stormfly. They're very competitive." Hiccup told her. "Astrid is Hiccup's girlfriend and they love each other very much." Aniu said, smirking at Hiccup who blushed. "Well, Aniu and Nava are girlfriend and boyfriend and they love each other dearly. They also grew up together." Hiccup got his revenge. It was Aniu and Nava's turn to blush.

"Awww, how sweet." Heather cooed. "Okay, so do you need anything? Some warm yak's milk, a nice fish stew?" Hiccup asked generously. "No, I don't really anything. I'm just really tired. It's been a long day. Thank you, Hiccup, Aniu and Nava." Heather said. "Alright, come on, Toothless. We're sleeping downstairs." Hiccup said, walking downstairs with Toothless. "Nava and I will go home." Aniu said, transforming into her owl form with Nava. They had told Heather about some of their abilities so she didn't freak out. "Oh, Aniu?" Heather asked. "Yes, Heather?" Aniu asked. "Your parents were really nice people." Heather said. Aniu smiled. "Thanks." Then she turned and flew out of the window to her room. Nava flew back to his own room in the Hofferson house where Astrid was feeding Stormfly.

"That's it, girl. Finish up your chicken. By the time Hiccup figures out this is giving you all that energy, he and Toothless will be eating our dust." Astrid said confidently as Stormfly ate the delicious chicken before her dragon's head shot up and sniffed the air. "What is it, Storm?" Astrid asked. Creeping between houses, the Hofferson girl heard footsteps and saw a figure that looked a lot like Heather run behind Hiccup's house. Astrid frowned, this was sounding very suspicious.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup was in the forge with Aniu hammering out a metal connecting rod. "You're up early." A voice said. Both teens turned and saw Heather walking towards them. "Yeah, just wanted to get the jump on this." Hiccup said. "You know, with a shorter connecting rod, it'll push you back in the saddle and make you more streamlined." Heather said. Hiccup's green eyes lit up and he tested it out. To his and Aniu's surprise, the result was very good. "Which will increase our speed. You hear that, Toothless? Astrid and Stormfly will be seeing more of your tail." Hiccup exclaimed. "How do you know this stuff?" Aniu asked in surprise. "I just like to study alchemy and science, that's all." Heather said with a blush.

"So, when can we test it out?" She asked with a smile. "How about right now?" Aniu asked brightly. "Sounds brilliant!" Hiccup exclaimed.

Astrid, Stormfly and Nava were waiting on a sea stack when Toothless and Aniu flew overhead with Hiccup _and_ Heather riding on the Night Fury's back. "You have got to be kidding me." Astrid muttered, feeling jealous, before Stormfly and Nava flew into the Academy. Fishlegs, Snotlout and the Thorston twins were waiting with their dragons in the Academy for the others to show up. Arrow, Firesnow, Clobbertail, Lefa-Rila and their kids were with them. "Ooh, she loves getting her ears cleaned." Fishlegs said, cleaning Meatlug's ears with a stick. Skyflier, Forestflier, Violet, Ignitis, Infernia, Boomer-Banger, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie were eagerly testing their firepower on a bunch of target shields. Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie continuously ate rocks small enough for their mouths and fired them out in the form of lava at their shields.

 _"_ _Watch this!"_ Skyflier yelled, firing a blast of magnesium flames at her shield. _"That's my girl! Forestflier, Violet, it's your turn_." Arrow said. Both young Nadders followed their older sister's example and breathed fire. _"_ _I'm so proud of you three. "_ The male, green Nadder said. _"_ _They'll be learning how to use their tail-spines soon."_ Stormfly said. _"_ _No, watch this!"_ Ignitis shouted, shooting his own flames at his shield, Infernia copied her brother. _"_ _Well done, you two."_ Firesnow told her hatchlings proudly. _"_ _Before long, they'll be flying and setting themselves on fire. I can't wait till that time. "_ Hookfang said happily. _"_ _Me neither, love."_ The female Monstrous Nightmare nuzzled her mate lovingly.

 _"_ _Just wait till you see us use our fire!"_ Boomer exclaimed, breathing out a cloud of toxic green gas. _"Ka-boom!"_ Banger yelled, igniting the gas with sparks and causing an explosion. Barf-Belch and Lefa-Rila nuzzled their son happily. _"_ _It won't be long until he can join us for our pranks."_ Barf-Belch told his mate. _"_ _Not if we have any say in it."_ Lefa-Rila said sternly. Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were cheering the young dragons on. Astrid and Nava watched them with smiles on their faces.

When the young dragons used up their shot limits and lay down for a nap, Hookfang began to pace around the Academy while Snotlout impatiently asked "Are we training or not?". "Snotlout, we're waiting for Hiccup, Toothless, Aniu and Heather then we'll train." Nava said. "Speaking of Hiccup and Aniu, where are those two?" Fishlegs asked. "Giving a private lesson." Astrid said bitterly, staring at the sky. Fishlegs gasped. "I didn't know they gave private lessons. Can anyone get in on that?" He asked enthusiastically. "Apparently just her." Astrid said. "Uh-oh. Looks like there's another hen in the rooster house." Ruffnut said, hearing how angry Astrid sounded.

"Yeah, another rooster in the hen...wait, what?" Tuffnut asked. "Nothing. She thinks I'm jealous which is completely ridiculous. " Astrid replied. "Oh, right. Wait, jealous of who? Of me? Wait, am I the rooster or the hen?" Tuffnut questioned. "Trust me. The last thing I am is jealous." Astrid said.

Finished with the test flight, Toothless and Aniu flew in and landed. "Top of the morning, class." Hiccup said, dismounting Toothless with Heather. "How's everyone doing today?" Aniu asked brightly. "The dragonets have been practicing fire-breathing and they're getting really good at it, but they used up their shot limits so they can't breathe fire again for a well so they're resting." Nava said.

"That's great." Aniu said happily. "Oh, nice of you to show up." Astrid said, glaring at Hiccup and Heather. 'What? Oh, we were supposed to meet up. I'm so sorry, Astrid." Hiccup said, face-palming and mentally kicking himself for forgetting to meet up with his girlfriend. "Awkward." Snotlout sang and Aniu hit him up the head with her wing. "Oh, Astrid is jealous of the pretty one for spending time with her boyfriend. Right? Why talk about hens and roosters?" Tuffnut asked.

"So, Heather, did you sleep well?" Astrid asked nonchalantly despite the fact she knew Heather was sneaking around. "Very well, thank you Astrid." Heather said. Astrid raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, who are those dragons? I know you guys introduced me to your dragons yesterday and the babies are so cute!" Heather exclaimed. "The green Nadder here is Arrow, he's Stormfly's mate. And their offspring are Skyflier (the blue female), Forestflier (the green male) and Violet (the purple female)." Nava said.

"This is Firesnow, she's Hookfang's mate and the mother of Ignitis (the red one) her son and Infernia (the blue one) is her and Hookfang's daughter." Snotlout said. "This is Meatlug's mate Clobbertail and their son and daughter are Stonecruncher, the one with the gray scales and Sweetiepie, the one with the pink scales. Meatlug and Clobbertail have had more hatchlings but these two decided to stay with their parents." Fishlegs said. "This here is Boomer-Banger. He's Barf-Belch's son." Tuffnut said. "And his mother and Barf-Belch's mate is Lefa-Rila, she's standing right behind me." Ruffnut said then turned to her brother. "I can't believe you forgot about Lefa-Rila, you idiot." She hissed. "I thought you could introduce her." Tuffnut hissed back.

"So, this is it? The Dragon Training Academy." Heather said. "No, our Dragon Training Academy. Remember, I called you the pretty one." Tuffnut said. "We've been training dragons to become a part of our everyday lives." Hiccup told Heather. "Every time we discover a new dragon, we study it." Aniu said smiling. "And it all goes right in here." Fishlegs said, holding up the Book of Dragons. "Really, everything?" Heather asked, staring at the book in interest. Aniu began to get a bad feeling. Why was Heather so interested in the Book of Dragons?

"Yep, I'm kind of the Log Keeper. Log Master, really." Fishlegs said. "He writes down whatever Hiccup, Aniu or Nava tell him to write." Snotlout butted in. "I give it my own spin, thank you very much." Fishlegs said. Tuffnut could tell they were trying to flirt with Heather and it made him jealous. "Can I see it?" Heather asked eagerly. "I'll take that, thank you. Excuse us." Astrid said, grabbing the book and dragging Hiccup and Aniu aside.

"Hiccup, Aniu, I don't think we should be showing her all our dragon secrets." Astrid whispered. "Astrid, it's fine." Hiccup tried to convince his girlfriend. "I just don't trust her. You and Aniu shouldn't either." Astrid whispered harshly. "Well, I do and you should trust me. Am I right, Aniu?" Hiccup said. When Aniu didn't say anything, Hiccup thought she agreed with him and walked back over to Heather. "Come to think of it, something does seem rather off with Heather. It's like she's afraid of something. Desperate, even. Like if she fails to do something, then she'll be punished in a bad way, probably even tortured." Aniu said softly. Astrid glanced at her. "Well, once I find out what Heather's intentions are, then I'll see whether you're right or wrong." She said. "Oh, Astrid. A word of advice: Don't let your jealousy or emotions get the better of you or overcome your judgement." Aniu said seriously. Astrid thought it over, nodded and walked away.

* * *

"So, Mister Log Master of the Book of Dragons, I can call you that, can't I?" Heather asked Fishlegs outside his house after everyone left the Academy. "Absolutely." Fishlegs said. "Tell me, what would one find in the Book of Dragons about the magnificent Gronckle?" Heather questioned. "Well, the Gronckle is a member of the Boulder class in the Book of Dragons. Meatlug is a perfect example. 10 feet long with a five-foot wingspan. She weighs 5 724 pounds." Fishlegs explained. "Cute. But how well does she perform in battle?" Heather asked.

"Well, feel her skin and scales. They're thick, impenetrable, like armour." Fishlegs said. Heather began stroking Meatlug's scales and Fishlegs threw a small rock at his Gronckle only to have it bounce back at him. "What about her tail? It looks like it could be a weapon." Heather said. "It is tough, bulbous and deadly. It can be used as a bludgeon." Fishlegs said, picking Meatlug's tail up. "Oh, she sounds so fierce." Heather commented. "Oh, she's fierce, alright. On the outside. But on the inside, she's as soft as a bed of rose petals. Aren't you, my dearest dragon?" Fishlegs gushed, giving Meatlug a hug.

Heather left and went to talk to Tuffnut about Barf-Belch. Ruffnut was riding on Lefa-Rila as the female Zippleback soared through the sky. "So, Tuffnut. Tell me how this works again." Heather said, sitting in Barf's saddle. "Oh, you yank on Barf's horns and he barfs out this really nasty gas that can make you feel really sick if you breathe it in and I spark it by pulling on Belch's horns. Just give me the signal." Tuffnut said. "Um, what's the signal?" Heather asked. "Oh, man. I always forget that." Tuffnut groaned. "How about 'fire'?"Heather suggested. "Great idea, you're really good at this. Much better than my sister, who I could easily get rid of, by the way. You know, she looks a lot like me." Tuffnut said happily, blushing as he glanced at Heather. He was beginning to get a crush on her.

"Yeah, why don't we focus on the task at hand?" Heather suggested. "OK, right. Ready?" Tuffnut asked, grabbing Belch's horns. "Ready." Heather gave the affirmative, grabbing Barf's horns. A small boat with Vikings on it sailed past the target boat Tuffnut had set up. So, the resulting gas and spark combination ended up destroying the boat instead of the target boat. Fortunately, no one aboard was hurt. "What do we do now?" Heather asked nervously. "Usually, we hide until the chief finds us then we get into trouble." Tuffnut said.

After that, Heather talked to Snotlout who was attempting to flirt with her. "I have to say, Snotlout. Your dragon is the most impressive." Heather said, stroking Hookfang's snout. "Yeah, I know. So, let's talk about you and me. You never did get to thank me for saving your life." Snotlout said. "Your right. Thank you, Snotlout." Heather chuckled. "So, how much does Hookfang weigh exactly?"

"Oh, him? Five thousand pounds give or take. He's monstrous, remember? Sorta like his rider. So, tour of the island? You and me? What do you say?" Snotlout asked flirtatiously. "Actually, Hiccup and Aniu took me on Toothless. It was beautiful. So, Snotlout, how does this whole fire thing work with Hookfang and other Monstrous Nightmares?" Heather asked curiously.

"It's his spit. It coats his body. That's what lights him on fire, okay?" Snotlout said. "Can he flame up on command?" Heather asked, running her hand over Hookfang's wing scales. "He can but he won't. Pig-headed dragon." Snotlout muttered. Hookfang became offended and gently set Snotlout's backside on fire. "Could you give me a minute? Just one minute, please!" Snotlout squeaked, jumping into the nearest water trough. "Take as much time as you need!" Heather told him.

"Here we go, bud. Oh, that's gonna work perfectly." Hiccup said, tinkering with Toothless's saddle stirrups. Aniu was out flying with her parents. The Night Fury and human boy didn't notice Heather slip inside the Haddock house, go upstairs and start searching for something. Namely, the Book of Dragons. Then she checked under Hiccup's bed and found what she was looking for. "Gotcha. The Book of Dragons." She whispered triumphantly. Quickly, Heather flicked through the pages and found the Deadly Nadder section. "Piercing spines. Loyal, powerful..."

"Intelligent and of course, deadly." A voice said. Heather whipped around and saw Astrid glaring at her. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked her angrily. Heather tried to think of something to say when Hiccup came upstairs and found Astrid glaring at Heather. "Well, are you gonna say something?" Astrid asked. "I'm so sorry, Hiccup. I was bored and found the Book of Dragons and decided to read to ease my boredom. I couldn't help myself." Heather said when Nava came walked upstairs and heard what she was saying. He couldn't shake off the feeling that Heather was lying.

"It's okay, Heather." Hiccup said. "What do you mean it's okay? She was reading the Book of Dragons." Astrid hissed, unable to believe her boyfriend was falling for Heather's innocent act. "Astrid, come on. Lighten up." Hiccup said. "Me? She's the one sneaking around, looking at our stuff." Astrid snapped. "Really? Sneaking around? What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked. "I'm talking about last night, near my house." Astrid said.

"That was me. I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. I was having terrible nightmares." Heather said. "I can imagine." Hiccup said understandingly. Nava shook his head at Hiccup's naivety. "Is this really happening?" Astrid asked in dismay. "Okay, Astrid. That's enough." Hiccup said sternly. "You're right, Hiccup. It is." Astrid said, walking downstairs. Nava turned into his owl form and flew out the window. "I'm sorry about that." Hiccup said sincerely. "No, Hiccup, I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to look at the book." Heather said. "It's no big deal. I trust you." Hiccup said, putting the Book of Dragons back under his bed. Unknown to him, Heather's eyes lit up with a sly look.

* * *

Later that night, Heather snuck into the stable where Stormfly, her mate and hatchlings slept. "Approach the Deadly Nadder slowly." She said, walking up to Arrow who woke up and raised his tail threateningly with the tail spines erected. "Spines. Just like the Book said." She whispered, pulling a piece of chicken out of a satchel. Arrow growled threateningly then smelled the chicken. "Stay in the blind spot." Heather whispered, giving the chicken to the emerald green Nadder who ate it.

"What are you doing with my dragon's mate?" Astrid's voice asked behind her. Heather spun around and saw the Hofferson shield-maiden glaring at her. "Uhh, you're really like to sneak up on people." Heather muttered. "Only the ones who deserve it and don't give me your innocent routine." Astrid said. "I wouldn't think of it. You're way too smart for that, Astrid." Heather said then Arrow nudged her from behind. She petted the male dragon's snout and said. "I think this your dragon's mate likes me. See you later, Arrow." With Astrid still glaring at her, Heather left. Arrow chirped as he watched Heather run away. "Really? Where's the loyalty?" Astrid huffed.

Heather snuck back into the Haddock house and watched Hiccup and Stoick pack away the dinner things. She peeked under Hiccup's bed only to see the Book of Dragons was gone. "Oh, no, no, no." She whispered. Heather glanced downstairs and saw Hiccup and Aniu updating the book of Dragons. "Great. Now what?" She muttered.

Astrid went inside the forest to train as a way to vent her temper. Nava was with her. "Heather. 'I think your dragon's mate likes me'. No one messes with me and my friends." Astrid growled. Nava heard the sound of footsteps. "Astrid." He whispered, gesturing to her frantically. Both teens saw Heather walk through the trees, looking very suspicious. Astrid and Nava stealthily followed her to a beach and saw Heather sit on a rock, evidently waiting for something or someone.

"This is stupid." Astrid whispered to herself. "No, wait, look." Nava whispered urgently, pointing at an heavily-armoured ship docking on the shore. "That's an Outcast boat." Astrid gasped. 'What are they doing her and what do they want?" Nava whisper-asked. A man jumped off the boat and walked up to Heather who stared up at him nervously. "Savage." Astrid and Nava whispered, recognizing the man.

"What have you learned about the dragons?" Savage asked. "I learned a lot, Savage. But there's something else that's going to make Alvin very happy." Heather squeaked out. "I'm listening." Savage said. "They have a Book of Dragons that's got everything in it. Everything Alvin could ever hope to learn about controlling dragons." Heather said. "Where is this book?" Savage asked. "I haven't got it right now. But I will soon. I promise. I just a little more time." Heather said. "Alvin isn't known for his patience. He won't be happy about having to wait." Savage said. "Please, you have to trust me. When I get to Outcast Island with that book, the wait will be worth it." Heather begged.

Astrid and Nava moved forward to hear better but accidently knocked rocks off the boulder they were hiding behind. Both teens ducked out of sight as Heather and Savage looked around for the source of the noise. "I better go." Heather said to Savage and ran off. "I hope you have learned enough about those guardians." Savage called after her. Heather froze and said "Yeah, I learned a bit about them." Before running off again.

Astrid and Nava glanced at each other and ran to Hiccup and Aniu's houses. Nava turned into his Masked Owl form again and flew up to Aniu's bedroom window. "What?" Aniu sleepily groaned before waking up and seeing her boyfriend standing beside her bed in his human form with an anxious look on his face. "Nava, what's wrong? What are you doing here?" She asked. "We need to go to Hiccup's house now." Nava whispered quickly. Aniu caught the urgent tone in his voice and nodded. Both guardian teens turned into their owl forms and flew to the Haddock house front door. They followed Astrid into the house and found Hiccup sleeping on the floor with a sharkskin rug under him and Toothless was curled up beside his rider.

Hiccup was given a rude awakening when Astrid kicked him awake with her foot. "Ow! Why would you do that? Why are you guys here?"Hiccup asked. "Saving our tails. Nava and I just saw Heather talking to Savage." Astrid said. "Heather's not who you think she is. She's working with the Outcasts." Nava exclaimed quietly. "What? She's upstairs sleeping." Hiccup said. "Oh, yeah, let's go find out." Astrid said going upstairs. Heather slipped in through the window, lay down in Hiccup's bed and pulled the blanket over herself just as Astrid, Hiccup, Nava and Aniu entered the room.

Heather rolled over and fake-yawned. "Oh, hey guys. Is everything okay?" She asked innocently. "Yes, Heather, everything's fine." Hiccup said. "We just wanted to check up on you." Aniu said, smiling innocently. The four left the room and Heather went to sleep. "Astrid, Nava, don't you think it's possible that you saw someone else?" Hiccup asked. "It is pretty dark out there." Aniu added.

"I know what Nava and I saw. Heather is not who you think she is." Astrid said. "Hiccup, please hear us out. You and Aniu need to keep the Book of Dragons away from Heather. Hide it where she can't find it. If Heather finds the Book and takes it to Outcast Island, Alvin will most likely learn about how to control dragons and lay siege to Berk. It's only a matter of time before that happens." Nava said desperately.

"Hiccup, please believe me. Nava and I are telling the truth. I just want to keep Berk safe. I wouldn't be able to live any longer if I lost people I love and you're one of the people I can't bear to lose. So, please trust me, just this once." Astrid begged, placing a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder, staring into Hiccup's emerald green eyes. Hiccup stared into Astrid's ice blue eyes and gently pressed his lips to hers.

"Oh, gods, now?" Aniu asked, blocking Hiccup and Astrid from her and Nava's sight with her wings. "Okay, Astrid. I trust you." Hiccup whispered once he and Astrid parted. Astrid hugged her boyfriend in relief. "So, what do we do now?" Aniu asked, lowering her wing. Hiccup smiled and told them his plan.

* * *

On Outcast Island, a group of Outcasts were trying to tame a Monstrous Nightmare. "Interesting. There's really no rhyme or reason to that thing, is there? It just catches fire at will." Alvin said, observing the dragon as it continuously flamed up. "That's why we need the book. She said everything the boy and his guardian friend knows is documented in its pages. I we have it, we can control any dragon." Savage chuckled. But what Savage didn't know was that Hiccup and Aniu hadn't learned everything there was to know about every dragon. There were still many species they had never got the chance to study.

'Then, why aren't I holding the book in my hand?" Alvin asked angrily. "You will be soon." Savage told him. "Good." Alvin growled. "Because your life depends on it." Glaring at his second-in-command, Alvin walked away. "I hate it when he says that." Savage muttered, barely avoiding a blast of fire.

* * *

After telling Astrid, Aniu and Nava his plan, Hiccup and his friends went to sleep. But they forgot to hide the Book before they did so. "Hey Dad, have you seen the book?" Hiccup asked anxiously the next morning. "You'll have to be more specific, son." Stoick said, putting potatoes into a sack. "The Book of Dragons. I can't find it anywhere." Hiccup said as the door slammed open and Astrid, Aniu and Nava walked in. "She's gone!" Astrid exclaimed. "Heather?" Hiccup asked. "Yes and Little Miss Innocent stole Arrow." Astrid yelled.

"We were too late." Aniu said. "I knew one of us should've hid the Book." Nava exclaimed, pulling at his silver-blonde hair in frustration. Hiccup and Astrid called Toothless and Stormfly before flying with Aniu and Nava to the Academy where the other dragon riders were gathered. "Oh, this is bad, really bad. This is catastrophic! If Alvin gets that book..." Fishlegs exclaimed, on the verge of a panic attack.

"He won't. Heather, I can't believe it." Hiccup said. "Me neither. How could she walk away from this?" Snotlout asked, gesturing to himself. "How could I have not seen it?" Hiccup asked himself. "Because your brain was 'under siege'." Tuffnut said, looking upset about Heather's 'betrayal'. "Do you even know what that means?" Nava asked him.

"Yes. No. It's not good, right?" Tuffnut questioned. "No, it's not good." Astrid said, mounting Stormfly who was eager to find her mate. "Alright, let's go. We can't let Heather reach outcast Island." Hiccup said, mounting Toothless. The dragons and guardians flew off.

* * *

On the way to Outcast Island, Heather was having a lot of trouble controlling Arrow. Befriending the male Deadly Nadder was rather easy. Flying him? A completely different story. Their slow progress enabled the Dragon Riders and guardians to catch up. Tuffnut saw them first. "What's that up ahead?" He asked loudly. "That's Heather." Hiccup said, seeing the girl trying to control Arrow's erratic flight pattern. "And is she ever gonna be sorry she helped me and Aniu with Toothless's speed?"

Stormfly sped up to her mate and Heather saw them. Narrowing her eyes, she fed Arrow another piece of chicken. Stormlfy flew above her mate and Astrid leapt off her back onto Arrow's. "Going somewhere?" Astrid asked angrily and the two girls began fighting. Then, Fishlegs spotted a barren, rocky island up ahead. "Um, Hiccup, Aniu. I hate to be the voice of doom but we just crossed into Outcast waters." He said nervously. "Hey, Astrid. You might wanna hurry up!" Aniu yelled. "Give me a minute. She's stronger than she looks!" Astrid yelled back.

By then, the Outcasts had spotted them and started catapulting flaming boulders at the riders and guardians. "Um, Astrid?" Hiccup called. "Don't...you...ever...touch...Arrow...again!" Astrid growled, pushing Heather off Arrow's back. But the Book of Dragons fell too. "No!" Astrid yelled, urging Arrow to dive down so she could grab it. "I'll get the girl!" Tuffnut exclaimed as Barf-Belch dove down and he caught Heather in his arms.

"Come on, bud. We need to get that book." Hiccup said. Toothless dove through the hailstorm of flaming boulders and Hiccup reached out for the book but couldn't grab it. A flaming boulder just barely missed Toothless and Hiccup's sleeve was burnt. Hiccup yelped in pain, smothered the flames and retreated. The Outcasts cheered at their victory. "Please tell me you got the book." Aniu begged. "I was too late. Alvin has the Book of Dragons." Hiccup said as they flew back to Berk.

 ***Heather will join Hiccup's group with Windshear in Dragons and Guardians: Race to the Edge. Maybe in the episodes Night of the Hunters Part 1 and 2, depends on what happens in them.**

 **Tuffnut and Heather seem to be a very good couple so I'm pairing them together in my story.**

 **When writing this story, I usually watch the episode I'm writing about on my ipad after downloading it from Itunes, read what other people have wrote and type it up on a computer then copy and paste it to document manager.**

 **I can't believe I'm half way through this story folks, only ten more chapters to go then this story is finished and I'll move onto the next one after taking a possible break.**

 **Whoa, I can't believe how fast I'm updating this story.**

 **This chapter was 10 pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 28. 11.2015 Australian Time**


	11. Heather Report Part 2

_"Dragon's speaking"_

 _'telepathical speaking'_

 _Thinking_

 **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **Please read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Heather Report Part 2**

Panting, Heather ran through the forest. After the dragon riders and guardians had gotten back from Outcast Island, they had jailed her in Berk's prison. She had escaped and was now running through the forest, hoping to find a boat so she could sail back to Outcast Island. None of the Berkian dragons would help her. Sliding down a slope, pushing aside some leaves and running out onto the beach, Heather found what she was looking for. But seconds later, the boat was blown up by a fireball.

"You can break out of jail as many times as you want but you're not getting off this island!" Astrid shouted down from her dragon's back. Stormfly swooped down, picked Heather up in her talons and flew the girl back to the village.

* * *

Heather grunted as she was pushed back into her cell. "Give it up, Heather. We have dragons." Astrid commanded, closing the cell door. "Astrid, I have to get back to Outcast Island." Heather said desperately. "Yeah, sure you do." Nava said, joining Astrid and standing beside her with his arms crossed. "You don't understand. Alvin has my parents!" Heather exclaimed. "Oh, yeah. Well, what happened to the pirates?" Astrid asked.

"There were never any pirates. I made it up. But, I had to. I needed you guys to trust me." Heather admitted. "Well, guess what. We don't. Not anymore." Nava said, walking away with Astrid. But as they left, Nava heard soft sniffles and sobs coming from Heather's cell. He sighed and walked away.

* * *

On Outcast Island, Savage and three other Outcasts had found the Book of Dragons and were trying to take it from a wild Gronckle. "Um, is that the book?" One Outcast soldier asked. "Looks like it." Savage said. "The only question is...how are we going to get it?" The Gronckle snarled at them and flared its wings. "Uh, if we had the dragon book, maybe it would tell us what to do." The Outcast said.

"You mean that book?" Savage asked, gesturing to the book under the Gronckle's chin. "Ah, right." The soldier said. "Look, the big, smart kid on Berk rides one of these dragons. They're very gentle. So, go take the book from it." Savage ordered. "What are you waiting for? It's just one little Gronckle. Go!" After a second of hesitation, the Outcast soldier moved forward. "Uh, hello there, dragon. If you don't mind, I'll just like to borrow your book." He said, reaching out to grab the book. But the Gronckle attacked him in a brutal way.

Savage and the two other Outcasts cringed at the man's screams. "Oh, well. That didn't work. Who's next?" Savage asked. The two Outcasts refused, not wanting to end up the same way as their comrade. Savage sighed and did it himself.

* * *

Back on Berk in the Dragon Training Academy, the dragon riders were going through a rigorous training session. Snotlout used a small catapult to fire a boulder at Meatlug who ate it. "Hey, that was a little close, Snotlout!" Fishlegs complained. "Quit whining, Fishlegs." Snotlout sneered. Fishlegs glared at him and Meatlug shot a lava blast at the mini-catapult, destroying it. "Hey! Cut it out." Snotlout complained. "Quit whining, Snotlout." Fishlegs sneered.

Meanwhile, Nava and Aniu did their own training. Nava stomped his foot on the ground, causing icicles to form and ice to radiate outwards from where his foot struck the ground. "That trick should make it harder for anyone to get close to me." He said. Aniu formed a fireball in her hands, threw her arms out and spun around, causing a ring of fire to surround her. "Cool. What will happen if I do this?" Nava asked, jumping into the air with his wings fanned out and brought them forward sharply, blowing most of the fire out. "Not bad." Aniu told her boyfriend. "But what happens when I do this?" She did her own wing-blast, knocking Nava over. Aniu walked over to her boyfriend and put a foot on his chest, pinning Nava down. But Nava managed to pull Aniu down and pin her. "Do you surrender or do I have to tickle you?" Nava asked his girlfriend teasingly. Rolling her emerald green eyes affectionately at her boyfriend, Aniu said "I surrender." Nava smiled and helped her up.

"Great job, guys. But remember, The Outcasts are not gonna be coming one at a time." Hiccup said. "So, we need to work on taking out multiple opponents at once." Aniu said, walking over to her surrogate brother's side. "You don't have to remind me. We're under enough stress." Fishlegs said. "Remember, we're only going to have one shot at getting the Book of Dragons back." Hiccup said. "Um, did I not make myself clear about the stress?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless diverted their attention to the Thorston twins and their dragon. Barf spat out some gas which led to Hookfang who was being petted by Snotlout and Belch lit it. Snotlout yelped and threw himself aside. Hookfang set himself on fire and went on a rampage. "Too early, Snotlout. We have to time it perfectly." Astrid said. "It wasn't me. It was them." Snotlout said, pointing at the twins. "Uh, sorry." Ruffnut said. "Yeah, we're still working out the kinks." Tuffnut added.

"Can you calm him down?" Astrid asked in exasperation as Hookfang continued rampaging around the arena. "He always does that when he gets angry." Snotlout said. But at a look from Nava, he relented. "Oh, fine." He grumbled and ran at his Monstrous Nightmare. Everybody stared when Snotlout pinned his dragon's horns to the ground. Hookfang instantly calmed down. "Figured that one out yesterday. He likes it." Snotlout said proudly. "He likes having his horns pinned to the ground?" Aniu asked.

"Tuffnut does." Ruffnut said. "I do?" Tuffnut asked. Ruffnut leapt off Barf and pinned her brother to the ground. "Oh, yeah. That does feel kind of nice. The dirt's soft." Tuffnut mumbled. "Can we get on with it? There could be a whole army coming at us." Astrid said impatiently. "Well, we're waiting." Snotlout said, mounting his dragon. Stormfly squawked and flew up, hovering in the air. "Hit it!" Snotlout yelled and Hookfang breathed fire. "Spines, Stormfly. Now!" Astrid ordered. Stormfly let loose some tail spines and the spikes flew through the wall of flames, stabbing into the stone wall of the arena where Ruffnut and Tuffnut were.

"That's going to work great." Aniu commented. "You know, all this training is nice once we have the book but Alvin's not going to just hand it over to us." Fishlegs said. Astrid walked over to him, Hiccup, Aniu and Nava. "No. But maybe Alvin will hand it to Heather." She said. "Are you suggesting we let Heather go?" Aniu asked. "Uh, I think Astrid has been eating dragon nip again.' Fishlegs whispered. Astrid elbowed him in the gut. "Ow! Why's it always violence with you?" Fishlegs yelped.

"That's the way Astrid is, Fish." Nava said and got hit in the gut by Astrid as well. "It's not violence, it's communication." Astrid argued. "Violent communication." Aniu said and got a light punch to the shoulder from Astrid. "So, are you suggesting we let Heather go?"Hiccup repeated Aniu's earlier question. "Sort of." Astrid answered. "Yep, dragon nip." Fishlegs said before Astrid hit him in the gut again.

Nava's sapphire blue eyes lit up as he realized what Astrid meant. "So, are you planning to disguise yourself as Heather, go back to Outcast Island and trick Alvin into giving you the book?" He asked. "That's exactly it." Astrid said affirmatively. "My Mum is a good seamstress and she knows how to make disguises." Aniu said. "Perfect. Let's go." Astrid said and Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava followed her to Aniu's house.

"I just have to go inside and see if Mum's home. If she is, I'll ask her to make a perfect disguise for you, Astrid. Some charcoal should turn your hair black like Heather's. I don't know if she'll be able to change your eye colour, though." Aniu said, going inside with Nava. That gave Hiccup and Astrid a chance to talk. "Astrid, do you want to do this?" Hiccup asked his girlfriend. "Not really, but what choice do we have? Aniu's not a very good actress and they might sense there's something different about her. And I'm more like Heather than she is." Astrid said.

"I just don't want you getting hurt." Hiccup admitted. "I'll be fine and if anything goes wrong, you'll be there to help me. Right?" Astrid said. "I'll be there for you until the day we grow old and die." Hiccup promised. "Good." Astrid said, giving him a hug. Hiccup hugged her back and gave Astrid a kiss on the lips. Astrid's eyes widened in surprise but she kissed Hiccup back. Hiccup rested a hand on Astrid's back and ran his other fingers through her braided, silky-soft, golden-blonde hair. Astrid played with Hiccup's dark brown hair and placed her hands on his back. Both moaned softly before...

"Snogging behind my house. Seriously, have you two got no shame?" Aniu's voice asked. Hiccup and Astrid parted and spun around with bright red blushes on their faces to see Aniu and Nava staring at them with smirks on their faces. Both guardians started laughing and relied on each other to stay standing upright. "Can't you wait till you're older before you start becoming more affectionate?" Nava asked, barely able to speak clearly because of his laughter."You two are only sixteen! But if you want to get married early, then I'm not stopping you." Aniu said, unable to keep a straight face.

Then Toothless and Stormfly joined them. _"What's going on?"_ Toothless asked. _"_ _And why are you two laughing so much?"_ Stormfly asked. "Hiccup and Astrid were just kissing and cuddling each other." Aniu gasped out. _"_ _Aww. That's so sweet."_ Stormfly cooed. Toothless rolled his eyes affectionately at his rider and his rider's girlfriend.

Hiccup and Astrid managed to get their blushes under control when Namara walked out. "Astrid, I got the disguise ready." She said. "Thanks, Namara." Astrid said, going inside the house. Stormfly flew to the place where she knew Arrow had taken Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet out to play. Hiccup got on Toothless and flew back to the Academy, leaving Aniu and Nava alone by themselves.

"You know, I'm a little worried about Astrid. Probably because I care about her in a brotherly way." Nava said. "You were always such a caring person and that's one of the many uncountable things I like about you." Aniu said. "Oh, really?" Nava asked, leaning forward and giving Aniu a kiss on the lips while hugging her with his arms and wings. Aniu wrapped her arms and wings around Nava and kissed him back. Nava ran his fingers through Aniu's hair and wing feathers. He loved doing it, they were just so soft, silky and shiny. Aniu also loved doing the same with Nava's hair and wing feathers as well.

Both guardian teens were so caught up in their kiss they didn't notice Fengo return from a flight and land near them. But they did notice when Fengo cleared his throat. Aniu and Nava jumped apart and blushed bright red when they saw him. "Hi, Dad." Aniu mumbled, very embarrassed at the fact her own father had just caught her kissing her boyfriend. "Hey, Fengo." Nava nearly whimpered, hoping that Fengo wouldn't be angry at him for kissing his own daughter in front of him.

"Now, I know you two love each other, but could you two be more subtle about it?" Fengo asked. "We will." Aniu and Nava said. "Oh and Nava, if you break my daughter's heart then I'll break your wings." Fengo threatened. "Yes, sir. I'll just be going now. Bye, Aniu" Nava said, giving Aniu a hug before flying away. Fengo glanced at his daughter thoughtfully. "You know, my dearest daughter. Your mother and I were a lot like you and Nava at that age." He said.

"Really?" Aniu asked. "Yeah, really." Fengo said. Aniu scratched behind her pointed ears nervously. "Nava and I have been best friends for nearly all of our lives and we know each other so well." She said. Fengo nodded with a smile on his face and hugged his daughter. Aniu returned the embrace and let her father run his fingers through her golden-brown ponytail. That always seemed to her down. "Well, I got to help Stoick, Gobber and some other men with a few things. So, I'll see you and Namara later." Fengo said, once they parted from their father-daughter hug. "See you later, Dad." Aniu said, watching her father fly away. Just then, Namara called out from inside the house. "Aniu, I need your help." Aniu flew into the house through a window in her owl form. "Coming, Mum." She said.

* * *

On Outcast Island, Savage walked up to Alvin with the Book of Dragons clutched in his hands. "What's that on your helmet?" Alvin asked. "Lava. Gronckle chapter, you might wanna read it." Savage said, giving Alvin the book. "Huh. This is all very interesting. I'll have to see it to believe it. Where's the girl?" Alvin said, reading the page. "She was captured after she made the drop." Savage reported."How unfortunate for her. But let's give this a try, shall we?" Alvin said.

* * *

Back on Berk during night time, the dragon riders had set up a small boat for Astrid so she could sail to Outcast Island disguised as Heather. "Th-th-this is gonna work, right? Cause if it doesn't work, Alvin's going to know all of our dragon secrets. And if Alvin knows all of our dragon secrets..." Fishlegs rambled with a stammer. "Fishlegs, it'll work." Hiccup reassured his friend. Then they saw two figures walk towards them. One of them was Aniu "Oh, that must be..." Nava started to say before the Thorston twins recognised the second figure. "Heather?" Tuffnut asked. "Get her!" Ruffnut yelled before she and her brother charged at the Heather-look-alike. "That rhymes!" Tuffnut said as he and his sister pinned the figure down.

"You. Must. Stay. In. Your. Cell. How many times do we have to tell you?" Tuffnut asked before he and Ruffnut were punched in the face and knocked off. "It's me, you muttonheads." Ruffnut and Tuffnut were very surprised when they learned that it was actually Astrid disguised as Heather. "Cool, right? My Mother is a pretty seamstress." Aniu said.

"Sorry, Astrid. Totally unconvincing." Tuffnut said. Nava noticed one small flaw with the disguise, Astrid's eyes were blue instead of green. He hoped that the Outcasts didn't notice the fact that who they thought was Heather had blue eyes instead of green eyes. That would be enough to make any intelligent person suspicious. "Oh, yeah. I could tell." Astrid snapped, hopping into the boat. "Are you sure about this?" Hiccup asked his girlfriend in concern. "No, but it's our only chance." Astrid said.

"We'll be shadowing you from the sky." Hiccup said. "First sign of trouble. We'll come help you." Aniu said."I don't need shadowing." Astrid rolled her eyes. "Just in case. You know, it'll make me feel better." Hiccup said. "Fine. Just stay out of sight. If Alvin sees any of you, it'll be over." Astrid relented. "Don't worry about us." Nava said. "Just get the book and get out of there." Aniu said. "We'll be waiting." Hiccup said. Astrid nodded and Fishlegs and Nava pushed the boat out to sea. Before Astrid vanished out of sight, Hiccup called out "Hey, Astrid. Be safe." earning a smile and a nod from his girlfriend. Then the boat vanished out of sight. The remaining dragon riders, Aniu and Nava waited an hour or two before getting their dragons and flying after the boat.

* * *

"Anyone in here hungry? We've got a lovely cabbage soup tonight, yummy." Bucket said, entering the prison and walking over to Heather's cell. But he found it empty. "Oh, not again. Stoick's gonna kill me. " Bucket opened the door and entered the cell, muttering "not good, not good, not good." He didn't notice Heather hiding in the rafters until she dropped down and knocked him unconscious. Heather carefully pulled Bucket into her cell, walked out and closed the door. "Sorry, Bucket. But I have to get to Outcast Island and save my parents. Nothing is going to stop me." She said and ran away.

* * *

After some hours, Astrid noticed her boat was getting close to Outcast Island. She checked her map and ducked as a Monstrous Nightmare flew past her boat. Pretty soon, Astrid's boat hit the shore and she jumped out onto the sand, making sure to pull the boat ashore. Savage and several other Outcasts suddenly showed up, armed with crossbows. "We thought you had been captured." Savage said. Getting over her startle attack, Astrid made a quick check on her outfit and hair to make sure her disguise as Heather was still convincing before speaking. "I was but I got away." She said, hoping she sounded like Heather.

"Well, it'd good to see you safe and sound. Get rid of her." Savage said, directing the last sentence at his soldiers. "What?" Astrid yelped in shock. "We don't need you anymore." Savage told her, walking away. "Savage, wait! You do need me. I can prove it. You have the book, right?" Savage gave her a questioning look. "I watched them. I learned from them. Trust me, that book is only worth something if you know how to use it." Astrid continued. Savage stared at her and Astrid tried to keep her face neutral.

* * *

After escaping from her cell, Heather snuck into the stable in the Hofferson house. All five Deadly Nadders were asleep with Stormfly and Arrow cuddled together while Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet slept curled up beside each other. Heather gently placed a hand on Arrow's snout and the green male Deadly Nadder woke up and fired some tail spines at her. "Okay, never startle a sleeping Nadder." Heather reminded herself, carefully removing a tail spine that had pinned her tunic sleeve to the wooden wall. Stormfly had woken up and stared at Heather warily, remembering her as the girl who had stolen the Book of Dragons and used Arrow to fly her to Outcast Island.

"Hey, guys. It's me, you old pal Heather. You and I are going to go on a little trip, Arrow. Stormfly, you can come too." Heather said. Both Deadly Nadders turned around and stared at their precious hatchlings. _"It's alright. Hopefully, we'll be back by morning."_ Arrow calmed his mate. _"_ _I just don't feel safe leaving them here by themselves even if Astrid's parents are here._ " Stormfly said. "Sorry, you two. No chicken tonight." Heather said, carefully climbing onto Arrow's back. "That wasn't so hard. Now, let's go find Astrid." Arrow and Stormfly chirped and ran out of the stable exit that led to outside the house. The Hofferson dragon stable had two entries and exits. One that led into the house and one that led outside the house. "Yeah, come on, you two!" Heather cheered two Deadly Nadders on.

* * *

The dragon riders and guardians were nearly at Outcast Island when Fishlegs decided to speak up. "I want to go on a record as saying I'm not so sure about this plan, Hiccup and Aniu." He said nervously. "If you have another plan, let's hear it." Aniu said. "I just think landing in a wild dragon nesting ground is really going to freak Meatlug out." Fishlegs said, concerned as ever about his Gronckle. "Really? Then how does she feel about flaming arrows and catapults?" Nava asked.

"Uh, she really doesn't like those either." Fishlegs squeaked. _"Fishlegs, I'll be fine. I can handle myself against these things."_ Meatlug said but Fishlegs didn't understand what she was saying. "Oh, you don't say." Hiccup said. "Tell you what, Fishlegs. When we get there you just lay back and let the real dragons do the work." Snotlout bragged.

"Yeah, you really have no idea what a swarm of wild dragons are capable of." Fishlegs told him. The Thorston twins purposely flew their Barf and Belch closer to Fishlegs and Meatlug. 'You know what would be awesome?" Tuffnut asked. "Flaming arrows, catapults..." Ruffnut started to say before she and her brother finished with "...and wild dragons." Barf and Belch flew upwards. "That makes three of you." Fishlegs said miserably. The group continued on their way to Outcast Island.

* * *

"Seems pretty straight-forward to me." Alvin growled, reading a page of the Book of Dragons. "It's anything but straight-forward, Alvin." Astrid said firmly. "if there's one thing I learned, it's that people will say anything to keep themselves alive. Isn't that right, Savage?" Alvin said. "Right, as usual, Alvin." Savage said. "See? Now, you say I need you to interpret what's in this book. I say, it's nothing but a ploy." Alvin told who he thought was Heather.

"Fine, give it a try." Astrid said. Alvin snorted and gave the book to one of his soldiers. "You heard the girl." Alvin said. The guard opened the book and cautiously approached a chained Deadly Nadder. "Alright, seems easy enough. "Uh, what kind of dragon is this?" The man asked. "It's a Deadly Nadder. Do you need the page number?" Astrid asked, mentally scoffing at the stupidity of the man. One would think this person would know what a Deadly Nadder was because they were one of most common breeds of dragon on Outcast Island.

"Uh, no. I've got it. Uh, Deadly Nadder, likes to preen, is very sure of itself, constant grooming." The Outcast read, glancing at the Deadly Nadder who was preening its wing. "Alright, we'll appeal to its vanity." Alvin glanced at Astrid and saw her shaking her head. The soldier got closer to the dragon. "Well, you are certainly a lovely girl." The Nadder chirped and resumed preening her wing. "Or, are you a handsome boy, who can tell?" The Nadder got angry and shot some tail spines at him but Astrid grabbed a nearby shield and used it to block the spines.

"Like I said, the book can only get you so far, Alvin." Astrid said, tossing the shield to the ground at the Outcast chief's feet. Alvin narrowed his eyes at her.

* * *

The dragon riders and guardians were now in Outcast waters. "You see this, Fishlegs. You got yourself all worked up for nothing." Hiccup said. "Um, you were saying?" Fishlegs asked nervously, seeing a group of wild dragons who had noticed their presence and flew towards them, ready to drive the intruders away. It was a good thing the riders, Aniu and Nava had brought baskets of fish with them."Guys, remember. Stick to the plan, no matter how crazy it gets." Nava said. "Crazy? I love crazy. Bring it on!" Snotlout yelled enthusiastically. "Wait! What's the plan again?"

"Now!" Hiccup yelled. "Drop the fish!" Aniu shouted. Everyone opened the baskets and tons of fish fell out. The wild dragons instantly went for them. "Sweet!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "Yes! We did it! Stupid dragons. Aaahhh!" Snotlout whooped, holding a fish in his hand. A Deadly Nadder saw it and grabbed the fish. Snotlout was also plucked off his dragon's saddle. Toothless and Aniu flew up to help him. "Snotlout, would you just let go of the fish?" Aniu asked. "I'll catch you!" Hiccup said.

"No! That's my lunch!" Snotlout yelled. "Now!" Hiccup snapped. Snotlout let go of the fish and dropped onto Toothless's back behind Hiccup. "It's only before dawn and you're worried about lunch when we haven't even had breakfast yet." Aniu deadpanned. The dragon riders and guardians flew the remaining distance to the island.

* * *

When daylight came, Alvin shoved Astrid into the Outcast's dragon arena. It was similar to Berk's dragon arena but had metal bars arranged like a web as a ceiling. But she turned around and held out her hand. "What is it?" Alvin snapped. "The book. I need it." Astrid said simply. Alvin stared at her. "Well, I didn't memorize it." Astrid said. Alvin sighed and gave her the book before shoving her into the arena and closing the door.

Astrid's attention was drawn to a cage door across from her. "Please be a Nadder, please be a Nadder, please be a Nadder, please be a Nadder." She begged under her breath. But what came out from the cage when it opened was a Monstrous Nightmare. It was on fire and looking very angry. "Oh, great." Astrid muttered and flicked through the book's pages, searching for the Monstrous Nightmare section.

"Well, I'm waiting." Alvin said impatiently from where he was watching. "Alright, big boy, it's you and me." Astrid told the Stoker Class dragon. She didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl dragon but she had no time to find out. Astrid approached the Monstrous Nightmare with her hand out but the dragon knocked her back. "Okay, check that off the list. How about the direct approach?" Astrid said then ran at the dragon and grabbed its tail. But the dragon didn't like that and threw her off. "Oh, our little Heather is feistier than I remember." Alvin chuckled then raised his voice. "This isn't anything my soldiers haven't tried. You'll need to do better!"

"Oh, the one time I wish Snotlout was here." Astrid groaned, hoping Snotlout would never hear what she just said. "Snotlout." She mumbled, remembering what Snotlout had done to Hookfang in the Academy earlier. She ran at the Monstrous Nightmare, jumped onto its head and grabbed its horns but the dragon pinned her against the wall with its head. "Well, that's the end of that." Alvin shrugged. "Wait, look." Savage told him, pointing at the dragon.

"Oh, these things don't budge." Astrid gasped out. The Monstrous Nightmare pulled its head back and stared into her eyes before letting Astrid bend his horns to the ground. "What? Oh, ho. I told yah she knew what she was doing!" Alvin exclaimed triumphantly. "Yes, you certainly did." Savage reluctantly agreed.

Astrid sat behind the Monstrous Nightmare's head and grabbed its horns in the proper Monstrous Nightmare riding position. "What do you say we get out of here?" She asked, patting the dragon's face. The Stoker class dragon picked itself up and Astrid grabbed the Book of Dragons, clutching it to her chest. A bunch of Outcasts stormed into the arena but the Monstrous Nightmare spat fire at them. "Going somewhere, Heather?" Alvin asked. "As far away from this place as possible!" Astrid yelled. "Without your parents?" Alvin asked, gesturing at a Viking couple being pushed forward by two Outcasts.

"Parents? Heather was telling the truth?' Astrid whispered to herself in shock and horror. The man and woman did look quite like Heather. "I might see my way clear to trading them for that book. Or you can leave and I'll kill them." Alvin bargained. Astrid was now trapped in a very hard decision. She couldn't let Heather's parents be killed but she couldn't leave the Book of Dragons with Alvin because he would use the knowledge inside it to train dragons use them to conquer or even destroy Berk.

* * *

The dragon riders, Aniu and Nava waited in a clearing not far from the arena. Fishlegs was feeding Meatlug boulders in preparation for the possible upcoming battle and Snotlout began making bird calls. "What are you doing?"Aniu asked him. "Duh, that's our signal." Snotlout told her. "Snotlout, we don't have a signal." Nava said, leaning against a tree. "We don't give the signal this time, Astrid does. We talked about this." Hiccup said. "Like any of this matters anyway. She's almost an hour late. Oh, we should never have let her go." Fishlegs said nervously then started rambling. "Alvin must've figured out what was going on..." He stopped, not able to continue on anymore.

"Costume stunk. I told you guys." Tuffnut said. "Guys, she'll be here soon. This is Astrid Hofferson we're talking about." Hiccup said, even though he was worried about his girlfriend. Nava sighed, took a book out his vest and began to read. "Really, Nava, you're reading a book when we're supposed to wait for Astrid?" Ruffnut asked. "I'm reading it just to pass the time." Nava told her. "What book are you reading, Nava?' Hiccup asked.

"It's called Guardians of Gahoole book 6: The Burning. You can have a look at it if you like." Nava replied. Hiccup nodded and read the page Nava was on.

 _Chapter fifteen: Twilla Suspects_

 _It was just after the evening meditation flight and Twilla made her way back to the hollow, which was empty as she expected. Where had that miserable old owl and that beastly snake gone? She felt a twinge of guilt calling Ifghar 'miserable'. This was certainly not the way of the Glauxian Brother's retreat. She had looked after Ifghar for years and although he did provoke pity in her she could never say she had felt any warm feelings toward him. It was the Glauxian way to always forgive and she had forgiven him for his treachery against his brother, the noble Lyze of Kiel and the Keilian League, Lyze himself had said to her before he had left the retreat that he was sure that someday his brother, Ifghar, would come seeking mercy and help and he hoped that she would help him as she had helped Octavia and himself when they had arrived. But Lyze had not really needed much help. He had only needed solitude and time to mend from the devastating loss of his beloved Lil._

Hiccup pondered what he just read and nodded before going back to waiting for Astrid to show up.

* * *

Astrid was currently at a crossroad and dismounted the Monstrous Nightmare. "Well, hand it over." Alvin said impatiently. "Send them over first." Astrid ordered. "Fine. Off you go." Alvin said shoving the couple towards what the girl who looked a lot like their daughter. But they knew it wasn't her. Most parents recognise their children and usually never forget. "Mum, Dad!" Astrid yelled, running forward and embracing Heather's parents. "I'm a friend of Heather's and I'm here to help." Astrid whispered, calming the two Vikings down.

"You do realize I'll never let you out of here with that book?" Alvin questioned. "No kidding! When I tell you, drop to the ground. It's about to get really hot in here." Astrid said, directing her last two sentences to Heather's parents in a whisper. "Oh, Heather. I'm waiting." Alvin said. "Now!" Astrid yelled at Heather's parents then threw the book into the air once they had ducked. She punched the Monstrous Nightmare across the snout, saying "Sorry, boy.". The dragon reared up, set itself on fire and spat fire at the Outcasts.

Astrid ran over to the Book of Dragons and Heather's parents followed her but Alvin threw a bola at Heather's father's ankles, tripping him up. Astrid grabbed the book and tried to help him up but Alvin reached them. The Hofferson girl threw herself on top of the book in an attempt to protect it but Alvin grabbed her hair and pulled her up, wrenching the book from her hands. "Heather, Heather, Heather." He tsked before noticing something with what he thought was Heather's hair. He let go of her hair and found his hand covered in soot. "Or are you?" He growled at her.

* * *

Hiccup tapped his foot impatiently against the boulder he was sitting on. Aniu was sitting beside Hiccup with her wings by her sides and she was looking around. Nava had stopped reading his book and was now lying on his back, conjuring snowflakes in the air above him. Then, the three teens saw three figures walk towards them. "There's Astrid." Hiccup said, standing on his boulder and recognizing the smallest figure. "Who's that with her?" Nava asked, sitting up and walking up to the boulder.

"I don't know." Aniu said. Astrid waved at her fellow dragon riders. "But that's the signal. Let's go, bud." Hiccup said, mounting Toothless and gliding over to Astrid and the two strangers who backed away upon seeing the Night Fury. Aniu and Nava followed them while Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut mounted their dragons.

'Who are these two?" Hiccup asked, gesturing at the two Vikings. "Heather's parents. She was telling the truth. Just go with the plan." Astrid said. Just then, a group of Outcasts surrounded them. "Well, Hiccup and Aniu. I bet you're surprised to see me.' Alvin sneered, walking toward them with Savage behind him. The Book of Dragons was tucked into Alvin's belt. "Eh, not really." Aniu shrugged. "This is where you live, right?" Hiccup asked sarcastically and Toothless snarled at the Outcast chief. "Easy, bud. Looks like he's got us this time."Hiccup calmed him down.

"You know, you two? With this book, your knowledge of dragons, Hiccup, your knowledge of magic, Aniu and my knowledge of warfare, we could make quite the team. How does that sound?" Alvin asked. "Uh, insane, demented, delusional, stupid, crazy? Oh, looks like I used all my fingers. Aniu, mind helping me out?" Hiccup said. "Um, let's see. Dumb-brained, idiotic, mutton-headed, something we will say no too. And that's all I've got." Aniu said casually.

"Alright the, we'll just have agree or disagree. You two are smart people. You know, I can't let you leave the island." Alvin growled. "And you're a smart murderous barbarian, Alvin. You know Aniu and I have a better plan than this." Hiccup said. "So do I." Alvin said. "Now!" Hiccup, Aniu and Alvin shouted.

The dragon riders and Nava flew forward and the battle began. Hookfang spat fire, Nava turned into his dragon form and shot tail spines and fire balls, Meatlug slammed into her opponents and Barf-Belch headbutted their Outcasts away. For a few minutes, it looked like the dragon riders and guardians had the upper hand but then despite their training, the battle turned in favour of the Outcasts. A bunch of Outcasts in the trees began firing arrows at them.

Two Outcasts threw a net over Fishlegs and Meatlug. "This wasn't part of the plan!" Fishlegs yelled. Another Outcast lassoed a rope Barf-Belch's necks and Ruffnut and Tuffnut were thrown, landing in a pile. Toothless and Aniu (in her dragon form) batted away Outcasts with their wings and tails. Astrid stole a shield and hit Outcasts with it. "There's too many of them!" Snotlout shouted. He, Hookfang, Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, Aniu and Nava were still fighting but they wouldn't last long before they captured with the rest.

"We need to rethink our plan!" Nava yelled, startling Outcasts who didn't know he could speak in his dragon form. "We're never going to get out of here!" Astrid yelled. Then two figures flew overhead, pulled the net off Fishlegs and Meatlug, burned the rope off Barf-Belch's necks. "Is that...?" Aniu started to ask."Yeah!" Yelled a familiar voice. To their surprise, Heather was riding on Arrow's back while he and Stormfly flew over the battle field. "Heather!" / "Stormfly!"/ "Arrow!" Hiccup, Astrid and Nava exclaimed.

"What? Heather?" Alvin shouted, realizing the Heather imposter was. Stormfly and Arrow landed, allowing Astrid to run and stroke Stormfly's snout. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you." Astrid said sincerely. "It's okay. I wouldn't have believed me either." Heather said. "Now, let's get your parents." Astrid said, mounting Stormfly. The other dragon riders, Aniu and Nava took that as their cue and flew up into the sky. Stormfly and Arrow swooped down and plucked up Heather's parents. "Mum, Dad! Hang on!" Heather called to them.

Barf-Belch hissed at the Outcasts who were pointing spears at Ruffnut and Tuffnut, scaring them away. The Thorston twins laughed, fist-bumped and mounted their dragon. "Alright guys, just like we practiced!" Hiccup alerted his comrades. "Remember what strategies we planned!" Aniu yelled, flying beside hiccup and Toothless.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut, cover fire!" Nava ordered. "It's about time." Ruffnut said as Barf-Belch dove down to a line of catapults. "I love this part. Wait for it, wait for it." Tuffnut said as Barf let out a stream of gas. Belch ignited the gas with sparks, causing an explosion which destroyed the catapults. A boulder was catapulted at Fishlegs and Meatlug. "Fishlegs, incoming!" Hiccup yelled. Meatlug ate the boulder and spat a lava blast at the catapult, destroying it.

"That's it, Meatlug." Fishlegs congratulated his brown and purple female Gronckle. "Yeah!" Heather whooped as Arrow and Stormfly dodged some arrows. "Now, Snotlout!" Astrid shouted. "Go for it!" Snotlout yelled as Hookfang set himself on fire. Arrow and Stormfly shot tail spines through a wall of Hookfang's flames and they stabbed into dead trees, setting them on fire.

"Yee-haw! You feeling the heat, boys? Cause I sure am!" Snotlout hollered. "Astrid's got the Book of Dragons, Hiccup!" Aniu yelled. "Great job, guys! Let's get out of here!" Hiccup yelled and the dragon riders and flew away. "They're getting away! Stop them!" Alvin growled, grabbing Savage and putting him into a catapult. "Shouldn't we test this first?" Savage asked nervously before Alvin pulled the lever, sending him flying into the air and knocking Astrid and the Book of Dragons off Stormfly.

Savage and Astrid landed on dead tree branches which broke, causing them to fall to the ground. Astrid groaned as she sat up. Alvin ran over, grabbed Astrid and the book before running away with Astrid slung over his shoulder and the book tucked into his belt. "Astrid!"/ _"Astrid!"_ Hiccup, Heather, Nava, Aniu, Stormfly and Arrow screamed. Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu gave chase with Toothless spitting plasma blasts at Alvin but they all missed.

Alvin stopped at a cliff edge and got an evil idea. "Surrender, or I'll...well, you know the rest." He said, holding Astrid over the cliff edge. "Do it, bud." Hiccup hissed, patting Toothless's head. If he had to make Toothless fire a plasma blast at Alvin to save Astrid, then so be it. Aniu (back in her human form) flared her wings and a ball of fire appeared in both of her hands.

Toothless readied a plasma blast and Astrid saw the Monstrous Nightmare she had tamed in the arena flying towards her. "Hiccup, don't shoot!" She yelled. Toothless swallowed back his plasma blast and the Monstrous Nightmare flew upwards, hitting Alvin with its tail and making him let go of Astrid and the book. Astrid got up, grabbed the book and hopped onto Toothless's back then they flew away with the Monstrous Nightmare following them. "Who is that?" Aniu asked curiously, gesturing at the Stoker Class dragon. "Just a new friend I made." Astrid said.

 _"_ _Hello, my name is Stoker."_ The Monstrous Nightmare said. "Nice to meet you. Would you like to live in Berk with us. There are dozens of other dragons there, including Monstrous Nightmares." Aniu said. _"Well, it sounds like a much better alternative than living on Outcast Island."_ Stoker said. They continued the flight back to Berk in peace.

"Did you see that? The dragon came for her. It protected her." Alvin asked, watching them fly away. "Bonded with her. We need to get that book back, Alvin." Savage said. "We need more than the book. We need that boy and his guardian as our weapon." Alvin said.

* * *

Back on Berk, Heather and her parents were getting ready to go back to their home. While her parents were on the ship prepared for them, Heather said goodbye to Hiccup, Toothless, Aniu, Astrid, Nava and Tuffnut. She had already said goodbye to Stormfly, Arrow, Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet.

"I can't thank you enough, especially you, Astrid. You put your life on the line for us and I'll never forget that." Heather said, giving Astrid a hug. Astrid was surprised but hugged her back. Aniu and Nava also got hugs from Heather. 'I'm gonna miss you. Both of you." Heather said, stroking Toothless on the head and smiling at Hiccup. "Uh, you know. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime." He said, unaware that their next meeting would be in three years on a special island called the Dragon's Edge **(spoiler).**

"Maybe we will." Heather smiled. "Just promise us one thing." Nava said. "If you need help again, you'll ask." Aniu finished. "I will. I promise." Heather said. "I'll really miss you Heather." Tuffnut said, blushing slightly. "Thanks, Tuffnut." Heather smiled, giving the male Thorston twin a hug and ran over the ship and boarded it. "You okay there, Tuff?" Aniu asked. "She just hugged me. Whoa. I think she likes me." Tuffnut whispered. "It seems like she does, Tuffnut." Nava grinned. The ship set sail and Heather waved goodbye at her new friends.

 **"** **Ever since dragons showed up on Berk, we've learned to expect the unexpected."**

Heather saw Snotlout standing on another part of the docks. "Write to me." He whispered hopefully. She would write letters, but not directly to him. Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava: definitely. Tuffnut: well, since she had a small crush on him, most likely. As for the others, she would.

 **"** **But every once in a while, someone or something comes along that surprises us. And when that happens, you kind of hate to see them go."**

Astrid gently punched Hiccup on the shoulder and he smiled. Aniu and Nava stood on both sides of them and placed an arm on their shoulders as well as put a wing on their backs.

 **Heather said in Dragons: Race to the Edge that Dagur and his Berserkers attacked her village and killed her foster parents. Dagur was in prison between Cast Out part 1 and Dragon Eye of the Beholder part 1 so the attack must've happened between Dragons: Defenders of Berk episode Night and the Fury and View to a Skrill part 1 and 2 or The Flight Stuff and Smoke Gets in your eyes.**

 **Thawfest is an episode that I don't really like so I am not looking forward to writing and for that reason, it might take a while.**

 **I am looking forward to Dragons and Guardians: Defenders of Berk. That's when things start to get serious.**

 **This chapter was 12 pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 5.12.2015 Australian Time**


	12. Thawfest

_"Dragon's speaking"_

 _'telepathical speaking'_

 _Thinking_

 **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly with their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **Please read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Thawfest**

It was Thawfest time in Berk and every Viking who wanted to participate was practicing and training for the upcoming games. The Arena was decorated with Thawfest decorations and two male Vikings were in the middle of an arm-wrestling contest.

 **"** **Every year on Berk, we come together to test our strength, endurance and courage in the Thawfest games."**

Astrid did handstands on a raised log while Stormfly watched her. Fishlegs threw an axe at a target. The axe hit just below the bulls-eye and Fishlegs was standing only a meter away.

 **"** **For some of us, it's not such a great time of the year."**

In the forest, Hiccup was trying to uproot a tree sapling with only his bare hands while Gobber and Aniu watched him. "Come on, Hiccup. Put your back into it. Aah!" Gobber exclaimed in surprise when the tree sapling hit him in the face. "Oops. Sorry, Gobber." Hiccup cringed. "Hey." Gobber grumbled but decided to forgive him. "Oh, look who else is doing some tree murdering." Aniu said.

"Faster, Snotlout. You have to push yourself, son." Spitelout Jorgenson coached his son Snotlout as the Jorgenson boy uprooted another tree and threw it. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi." Father and son chanted. After that, Hiccup had to train for the Sheep Lug and he was up against Snotlout. He was doing okay until Snotlout ran past him. "See yah, wouldn't wanna be you." He taunted, kicking dirt into his cousin' s coughed and fell to the ground and his sheep ran away.

 **"** **In fact, I've lost every single time to that guy."**

Snotlout laughed and butted heads with his father then both Jorgensons walked away.

 **"** **But this year, all that could change. This year I finally have a chance to win. Because, for the first time ever, this year the Thawfest games will include..."**

"...dragons. They are now officially part of Thawfest. There will be three additional events: the fly and shoot. Which will require you to fly straight and shoot straighter." Gobber announced to the dragon riders in the Academy. Barf and Belch suddenly shot a fireball at Gobber's flag. "Hey!" Gobber yelled, ducking.

"Uh, sorry. We were on the wrong head." Tuffnut said, switching his position on Barf's neck with his sister Ruffnut so that Tuffnut was sitting in his rightful place on Belch's saddle and Ruffnut was sitting in her rightful place on Barf's saddle. "I knew something felt weird." Ruffnut remarked. Barf-Belch shot another fireball, this time incinerating Gobber's flag. "Ah, much better." Tuffnut sighed.

"Next is the freestyle, where it's up to you to impress the judges with a trick of your choice." Gobber continued. Stormfly flew overhead with Astrid doing handstands on her back. "A Nadder wing-walk. Impressive, Astrid." Gobber said. "Um, excuse me. Meatlug and I were wondering if there were going to be any intellectual events? A puzzle, perhaps?" Fishlegs spoke up while Meatlug ate some boulders.

"It'll be interesting to see how well Vikings do in the intellectual events." Nava commented. "I'll take that under advisement, you two. Let's not forget the hurdles, where you'll be asked to..." Gobber said before an obnoxious whoop cut through the air. Hookfang landed in the arena and Snotlout dismounted. "You know what I love about the Thaw Festival Games? Winning." He boasted.

"Do you wanna touch one of my medals just to see how it feels to be a winner?" Snotlout asked arrogantly when he noticed Hiccup and Aniu staring at the medals hanging off his neck. "I think I'll pass." Hiccup said. "Me too." Aniu added. "My family has never lost a Thawfest game. Ever." Snotlout bragged. "Here we go." Astrid sighed, crossing her arms. "Dragons or no dragons, I'll do what I do every year: bring glory to the Jorgenson clan. And you'll do what you do: embarrass yours. Let's go, Hookfang." Snotlout mounted his dragon and Hookfang took off like an arrow, causing Snotlout to hang upside-down from his saddle. "I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!" Snotlout screamed as he and his Monstrous Nightmare flew out of sight.

* * *

That night in his room, Hiccup made plans for the upcoming games. Toothless was curled up behind him and Aniu was lying on the ground in her wolf form, humming a little song to herself under her breath. "Okay." Hiccup mumbled, picking up a measuring tape and measuring Toothless's neck with it. "What are you two working on?" Stoick asked, coming up the stairs.

"Just some ideas for Thawfest. " Hiccup said."Right, right, excellent." Stoick said. "So, did you need something, Dad?" Hiccup asked. "Well, with the dragons, you could actually..." Stoick began. "Beat Snotlout, best the Jorgensons?" Hiccup asked hopefully. "Well, when you put it that way, it does have a nice ring to it." Stoick said. An awkward silence ensued until Stoick broke it. "Okay, then. I'll let you get back to whatever it is you're doing." He said, going back downstairs. "I might go home. Goodnight, Hiccup. Goodnight, Toothless." Aniu said, turning into her owl form and perching on the windowsill. "Goodnight, Aniu."/ _"See you in the morning."_ Hiccup and Toothless said. Aniu nodded and flew into her room where she curled up on a fur pelt in her wolf form and went to sleep.

* * *

The very next day, the Thawfest games had begun. The adult Vikings had already participated and now it was the teenagers turn. Aniu, Nava, Fengo and Namara decided not to participate. Snotlout, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Hiccup's faces were painted on a scoreboard. "Let the Thaw Festival Games begin!" Stoick shouted. Everyone watching began cheering. Fengo and Namara opened a crate and released a bunch of colourful Terrible Terrors who flew into the sky. One of them stole a Viking's chicken drumstick. The man wasn't too happy at all.

Spitelout was giving his son a pep talk. "What are we?" He asked loudly. "We're killers." Snotlout exclaimed. "What do we do?" Spitelout asked. "We kill!" Snotlout said enthusiastically. "What do we say?" Spitelout questioned. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!" Both Jorgensons chanted. Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout then lined up for the first event. "The contestants are now lined up for the sheep lug." Mulch announced through a horn. "It's a good day for lugging sheep, Mulch." Bucket said happily.

"Well, Bucket. Every day's a good day for lugging sheep." Mulch said. Gobber put a sheep on each teen's back and left. "On your mark, get set..." Mulch said then clanged his hook-hand against Bucket's bucket. The teens were off, trying to be the first to reach the finish line. Snotlout won and threw his sheep against Hookfang's wing in triumph. The Monstrous Nightmare let it bounce off and checked the sheep to make sure it was okay.

"That's my boy!" Spitelout yelled. Hiccup and Astrid went over the finish line and Hiccup fell to the ground, panting from exhaustion. His sheep ran away and Astrid put her sheep down and helped Hiccup up. Ruffnut and Tuffnut had started fighting before they reached the finish line and Fishlegs had collapsed from exhaustion. "I really need to lose some weight." The Ingerman boy panted.

"The first point of the Thawfest Games goes to Snotlout." Mulch announced. Bucket painted a blue line next to Snotlout's face on the scoreboard. Soon, it was time for the next event. "Next up is our traditional Log Roll event." Mulch announced. The competing teens stood on a raise log which had a rock pit below it. "Enjoy your face-plants." Snotlout sneered, cracking his neck and started rolling the log, forcing the other teens to roll with him. But Snotlout made the log go very fast, rolling the other teens off the log, leaving Snotlout the winner.

Another line was painted beside Snotlout's face. "Thank you, Toothless." Hiccup sighed when his ever-loyal Night Fury helped him out of the rocks. "The next event is the Axe-Throwing contest where accuracy is supreme." Mulch announced. The teens held their axes at the ready and Snotlout threw his axe first. "Bulls-eye." Mulch said when Snotlout's axe hit the very centre of the target. Fishlegs and Astrid tossed their axes but the two weapons collided with each other.

Ruffnut spun around, let go of her axe and Stoick caught it. Tuffnut's axe nearly accidently chopped a Viking's helmet horn off. Hiccup threw his axe and for a second, it looked like it was going to hit the target but fell short. "Good job, Hiccup." Aniu said. Astrid smiled at him and Hiccup smiled back at her. Snotlout had retrieved Hiccup's axe and stood beside his cousin. "Here's how it's done, dragon boy." Snotlout said, tossing Hiccup's axe at the target, hitting the bulls-eye with his back turned. Snotlout threw two more axes with his back turned, earning the same result. "Show-off." Hiccup and Aniu muttered bitterly. "Why don't you just give us the medal now, Stoick? Save your boy the embarrassment." Spitelout crowed. "Why don't you take a seat, Spitelout?" Stoick asked, glaring at his brother. The crowd 'oohed'. The sibling rivalry between Stoick Haddock and Spitelout Jorgenson was well known on Berk.

"Wait! Can Astrid and Fishlegs throw another axe because they accidently knocked each other's axes out?" Nava yelled. "Well, I suppose they could." Stoick said. Astrid threw Nava a grateful look and tossed her axe at her target, scoring a perfect bulls-eye. Fishlegs threw his axe but didn't hit the bulls-eye. "Don't let him get to you." Gobber told his friend calmly. "He's been getting to me for years. Why should today be any different?" Stoick grumbled. "It's hard to believe you two are brothers." Namara said. "Why do you two have different last names, then?" Fengo asked. "When our father died, Spitelout took his name which was Jorgen and added son onto it as his last name as a sign of respect." Stoick said.

After everyone left, Hiccup and Aniu stared at the scoreboard. Snotlout had three points while the other teens had zero points. "Well, dead last." Hiccup muttered. "Wow, I have all the points and the best looking picture? Unfair." Snotlout bragged, walking over to them. "Have your fun now. Tomorrow, everything changes." Hiccup said confidently. "Right, bud?" Toothless growled in agreement.

"I can't wait cause Hookfang and I, it's like boy and dragon have become one. We're like a 'bragon', or a 'droy' or a 'Snotfang'." Snotlout said, mounting his dragon and Hookfang flew away. "Yeah, well tomorrow, you're going to have to deal with...'Hictooth'." Hiccup said. "'Hictooth', really?" Aniu asked. "Not my snappiest comeback. It's rather lame, actually." Hiccup admitted. Astrid and Nava were nearby and heard the exchange. "Why are you letting yourself get caught up in all of this?" Astrid asked. "Because for the first time ever, I have a chance to beat Snotlout, to quiet him down." Hiccup explained. Snotlout and Hookfang flew over their heads with Snotlout yelling "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!".

"Snotlout, just shut up and get out of here!" Nava shouted. "I agree, Snotlout does need to be quietened down and taken down a few pegs." Aniu agreed. "Good point, I have to admit, it would be nice to see someone else with a Thawfest medal." Astrid said, mounting Stormfly and flying away. Nava followed them. "You spiked your last sheep, Snotfang. Tomorrow's a new say." Hiccup muttered in determination. Aniu didn't like the look on his face.

* * *

The next day, it was time for the dragons to shine. Inside the arena, hurdles were set up. "Welcome to day two of the Thawfest Games. Let the dragon events begin. First up, the hurdles." Mulch announced. "Hurdles, shmurdles. I can make it over those things in my sleep." Snotlout boasted. "Be my guest." Hiccup said. "You don't go over them, Snotlout. You go under them." Astrid said. "Duh, I knew that." Snotlout said even though he didn't. _"Uh, sure you did."_ Toothless muttered.

"First up is Fishlegs." Mulch called out. Meatlug took off but she and her rider got stuck under the first hurdle because of their combined size. "Um, guys? A little help over here? It's okay girl. This just isn't our event." Fishlegs asked then reassured his Gronckle. Once Fishlegs and Meatlug were helped out, it was Astrid and Stormfly's turn but one of Stormfly's occipital horns clipped a hurdle. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch were up next but the Zippleback got his necks caught on a hurdle, throwing his riders off.

"Where's your book, Hiccup? You might wanna take notes." Snotlout sneered as Hookfang took off but Snotlout forgot to duck and kept accidently hitting his head on nearly every hurdle. "Let's show them how it's done." Hiccup grinned. Toothless growled in agreement and flew to the hurdles, flipped upside-down and made it through without hitting or touching anything. "And Hiccup makes a perfect run!" Mulch exclaimed as a point was drawn up beside Hiccup's face on the scoreboard.

"Great job, Hiccup!" Aniu hollered but it appeared that getting his first point ever in the Thawfest Games had gone to Hiccup's head. "Did you hear what he just said? 'Perfect'. I-I believe those are my first Thawfest points ever. I just realized something: I like beating Snotlout. I feel taller. Do I look taller? Never mind, don't answer that." Hiccup laughed.

"Is he gloating?" Fishlegs asked Astrid in shock. "I'm not sure. I never actually seen Hiccup gloat." Astrid replied. "Don't get too excited. You know what this is. (he held up a finger) The number of wins I need to get to win this thing. And you what this is? (he held up two fingers). The number of chances I have." Snotlout hissed, landing beside them on Hookfang. "Oh, you know what this is? (he held up his hand with his thumb and index finger in a small circle) The size of your brain." Hiccup snarked. "Like you ever seen my brain. Come on, Hookfang." Snotlout said, flying away on his Monstrous Nightmare.

"What? He started it. When we were five." Hiccup defended himself when Astrid threw him a look. The riders and dragons got ready for the next event. "Next, we have the freestyle event. The contestants and their dragons will show off their styles and abilities." Mulch announced. First up: Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch. "Check this out." Ruffnut said. She was standing on her brother's shoulders while Tuffnut stood on Barf and Belch's necks. Tuffnut was about to say what they were about to do when he lost his balance, sending him and Ruffnut falling to the ground. The judges gave them zero marks.

"We like to call this next feat of daring the 'Extreme Butterfly'." Fishlegs said as Meatlug flew in circles. But Meatlug got dizzy and crash-landed. The judges gave them one mark each. "It's okay, girl. This isn't our event, either." Fishlegs consoled his dragon. Astrid did some gymnastic-like dance moves on Stormfly's back. "How does she make it look so easy?" Fishlegs asked. "Astrid's always the type to incorporate battle moves into dance moves." Nava said. "How come you can't do that? I mean, I could." Tuffnut asked his sister before getting slapped to the ground by her.

Astrid and Stormfly got two marks from two judges and three from the other judge. Hiccup and Toothless performed a complex series of aerial acrobatics and manoeuvres. "I hear Snotlout is going to try a trick called the 'Rings of Deadly Fire'. No one's ever tried it before" Tuffnut said. "Yeah, because it's too dangerous." Ruffnut said. "No, because he made it up." Tuffnut corrected. Three big wooden rings were set up in the arena.

"I'm probably gonna wing just for coming up with this." Snotlout said arrogantly. Hookfang flew into the sky, back into the arena and set the rings on fire. But as he and his rider got closer, Hookfang panicked and threw Snotlout off. Snotlout crashed into the hoops and jumped into a water trough because his backside was on fire. Spitelout wasn't happy and the judges held up zero points each. "I get the rings and the fire part, but where's the death? I feel so cheated." Tuffnut said. On the scoreboard, Snotlout had three points while Hiccup had two.

"Wow, Snotlout. You're Dad looks really mad right now." Aniu said. Snotlout glanced at his father and saw Spitelout giving him a death glare. "What do you know? He always looks like that." Snotlout spat. Then Hiccup walked up to them. "Do you really think you have a shot at beating me?" Snotlout asked him. "As a matter of fact, I do have a shot at beating you." Hiccup said.

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too. Think about it. Toothless is a Night Fury and I'm his rider. How can I lose?" Hiccup asked. "Cause that's what you do. I win, you lose." Snotlout snapped. "Yeah, well. Check the scoreboard, Snotlout. Not anymore." Hiccup snapped. Snotlout looked at the scoreboard and walked away, muttering angrily. "Hiccup, I think you're taking it a bit too far." Aniu said. "Me? How could I take it too far when he's been treating me like he always does nearly all my life?" Hiccup asked her angrily. Aniu sighed. "Whatever. I'm going for a run in my wolf form. I'll come back before the last event starts. And when I do, you better have thought about your attitude." Aniu said, turning into her wolf form and running out of the academy.

"What was that all about?" Astrid asked, walking up and standing beside her boyfriend. She had heard Hiccup and Snotlout's conversation and what Hiccup and Aniu said to each other. "Just rattling cages." Hiccup said nonchalantly. "Since when do you rattle cages?" Astrid questioned. Hiccup shrugged and walked away from her. Nava flew in and said. "Hiccup, if you continue with your current behaviour, you risk alienating and losing your friends."

* * *

True to her word, Aniu came back just before the final event started. "The contestants are lined up for the fly and shoot where they must shoot down their foes and spare their friends." Mulch announced as targets in the shape of Outcasts and Berkians popped up in a makeshift village. Hiccup and Toothless went first, on the lookout for any Outcast target. Hiccup alerted his dragon when one popped up and Toothless shot it.

After shooting a few more Outcasts, Hiccup and Toothless were nearly finished when another Outcast target popped up. Hiccup didn't notice it but Toothless did and shot it with a plasma blast. "Thanks, bud. I didn't see that one." Hiccup said as he and Toothless crossed the finish line. "Hiccup and Toothless come through with a perfect score!" Mulch hollered. "Okay, Hookfang. A clean run here and we're the champions." Snotlout told his dragon after everyone else had their turn. Hookfang flew up and searched through the fake village for any Outcast targets. One popped up and Hookfang shot it but got flour on his face, disorienting him.

The Monstrous Nightmare accidently shot Berkian targets. Snotlout tried to get his dragon under control but failed. "Snotlout! Get that dragon under control!" Spitelout yelled. "This does not look good for the reining Thaw Festival Champion." Mulch commented. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut cheered, enjoying the destruction. Another point was painted beside Hiccup's face, leaving Hiccup and Snotlout tied with three points each on the scoreboard.

"And for the first time in Thawfest history, we have a tie. Tomorrow, these two young Vikings will go head to head in an event to decide the Thawfest Champion." Mulch announced. Snotlout and Hiccup stood side by side on the stage. "I can't believe how lucky you are. You don't even belong on the stage with me." Snotlout whispered.

"That's it. Keep talking, Snotlout as your family's winning streak goes up in smoke just like your 'Rings of Deadly Fire'." Hiccup taunted as they stepped off the stage. Snotlout muttered something in fury and stormed away in anger, kicking a bucket as he went. "Hey, what's the matter? Yak got your tongue?" Hiccup asked mockingly as Snotlout left.

Astrid and Aniu watched this exchange beside the stage. "Hiccup." Both girls scolded. "Oh, he's just crumbling under the pressure. I can feel it." Hiccup waved it off. Astrid and Aniu gave him disappointed and upset looks. "You know what I always liked about you, Hiccup? You were always a gracious loser. Who knew you'd be such a lousy winner?" Astrid asked softly. "What happened to the Hiccup we know and love?" Aniu asked, walking away with Astrid.

* * *

"'Lousy winner'. I'll be a great winner." Hiccup muttered to himself as he hammered out a connecting rod in the forge that night. Toothless woke up from his nap and warbled at his rider. "You see this, bud? Lighter, thinner. This will help us fly faster and turn quicker." Hiccup told him, attaching the connecting rod to his Night Fury's saddle. "I also stripped down your saddle. Light as a feather. But this (he held up Toothless's prosthetic tailfin) is what is going to make the most difference. A tailfin as thin as paper and even stronger than before. We're going to be able to turn better than we ever have. Snotlout and Hookfang won't have a chance."

After checking the saddle and prosthetic tailfin, Hiccup and Toothless left the forge and heard a sudden scream of pain. "Aniu!"/ _"Aniu!"_ Hiccup and Toothless exclaimed, recognizing the voice that had screamed. Hiccup hopped onto Toothless's back and flew down to where the scream had come from. "Aniu, everything's gonna be okay." Nava told his girlfriend. "You're going to have to stay calm and relax. I know it hurts but you must do it." Namara tried to calm her daughter. A bunch of Vikings were yelling out apologies as Fengo, Stoick, Gobber, Thornado and Sonica struggled to lift a fallen pole Aniu was pinned under.

"It hurts so much!" Aniu cried out as her father, the two Vikings and two Thunderdrums managed to lift the pole off her wing. This all started when Aniu was taking a stroll around the village. A bunch of Vikings were having an axe-throwing contest when a stray axe had cut down the pole. Aniu heard the people's shouts and saw the pole but it was too late. The pole had fallen straight onto Aniu's wing, pinning her down on the ground, unable to get up. Aniu heard a loud crack and felt agony blaze through her flight appendage, causing her to scream in pain.

Hiccup and Toothless pushed through the surrounding crowd and knelt down by Aniu's side. "Ni, are you okay?" Hiccup asked desperately. _"Say something."_ Toothless begged. "What does it look like? I'm in agony thanks to that pole!" Aniu yelled. She felt sorry for yelling at her best friends but the pain made it hard to stop herself. Namara performed a diagnostic spell on her daughter's wing and saw the results. "Aniu, your wing's broken. You won't be able to fly again for a couple of weeks, even with healing spells. When you broke your other wing during the Battle of the Red Death, it was only a minor break. This break is more major." Namara said.

"We have to take her home now! We'll accept your apologies later!" Fengo said, directing his last sentence at the Vikings. Namara turned into her golden Night Fury form and Fengo placed Aniu carefully on her back. Both guardians flew to their home and put Aniu on her bed. Nava, Hiccup and Toothless followed them. Hiccup and Toothless quickly visited Aniu before she got her wing reset and apologized for what had happened. Aniu told them they had nothing to apologize for and gently told them to go home and get some rest for the next day.

Once Hiccup and Toothless left, Nava waited until Aniu's wing was reset before going inside her room to talk to her. "Hey, Ni. How are you feeling?" He asked gently, sitting beside Aniu on her bed. Aniu gave him a tired smile. "I'm okay. You're not mad at Hiccup, are you?" She said. "No. I think the reason why Hiccup is acting how he is right now is because he's won three Thawfest events when he's never won at a Thawfest event before and it's getting to his head because he doesn't know how to handle it and he's not used to it. His desire to win the Thawfest Games and break the Jorgenson family's winning streak is blinding him to how his friends feel about his new behaviour. I'm not saying that Hiccup winning the Thawfest Games is a bad thing because Snotlout and his father do need to be knocked down a few pegs or so and it is about time someone else other than a Jorgenson wins Thawfest because the Jorgensons have been winning it for so long that it's time for someone else to win." Nava said.

Aniu smiled, sat up and kissed him. Nava kissed her back and they parted after a few seconds. "I hope your wing gets better soon." Nava whispered, leaning his forehead against hers and staring into Aniu's emerald green eyes. "I will." Aniu promised, staring into Nava's sapphire blue eyes. Nava leaned back, nodded, turned into his owl form and flew out the window. Aniu watched him go and fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, everyone was preparing for the tiebreaker event. Stoick approached Hiccup and Toothless. "Remember son, no pressure." He said. Stoick could see that Hiccup was a bit shaken up by what happened to Aniu. He had barely gotten any sleep due to worrying about Aniu. Hiccup slowly nodded and Stoick left.

Spitelout marched over to his son as Snotlout did stretches and warm-ups. "Snotlout!" He called. The Jorgenson boy spun around in surprise and saw his father standing there. "Oh, hey, Dad. I'm just getting ready." Snotlout said. "Did you ever hear the story of when I almost lost the Thawfest Games?" Spitelout asked. "No. I never did." Snotlout answered. "That's right. Because it never happened." Spitelout barked. "No Jorgenson has ever come close to losing the Thawfest Games. So, don't you be the first." He walked away. Hookfang gave his rider a reassuring nuzzle but Snotlout pushed him away.

Aniu had come to say good luck to Hiccup when she overheard what Spitelout said to his son."Wow, looks like Snotlout's under a lot of pressure." She remarked. "Are you okay, Aniu?" Hiccup asked her gently. "I'm okay. My wing still hurts but I'm fine. And Hiccup, if you believe that winning the tiebreaker is the right thing to do, then do it. But if you believe that letting Snotlout win this year's Thawfest Games is the right thing to do, then do it." Aniu said. "Okay. I'm glad you're okay." Hiccup said, giving Aniu a hug. "I'll be watching you so see you later." Aniu said, walking away and sitting between her parents in the stands.

"Welcome to the final deciding event of this year's Thawfest Games: The Obstacle Course Race. Take it away, Gobber." Mulch announced. "The race will start here in the stadium. Where, after the log dodge and the cliff climb, Hiccup and Snotlout will get on their dragons and loop around the flagship anchored off the coast, slalom through the sea stack maze then head back here. The first one to pass that finish line is the winner." Gobber said.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Hiccup asked Snotlout. "No." Snotlout said simply. "Okay. I just wanted to say have a good race and may the best Viking win." Hiccup said anyway. "Oh, we will. Don't you worry your scrawny little self about that. See you at the finish line, Hiccup. Or maybe, I won't."Snotlout said. "Alright, I tried. If that's how you want it." Hiccup said. "That's exactly how I want it." Snotlout snapped, walking away.

"Vikings and dragons, take your positions." Mulch announced. Hookfang and Toothless positioned themselves on the cliff their riders had to climb. _"May the best dragon and rider pair win."_ Toothless said courteously to Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare nodded in agreement and reply. At least, Hookfang was more humble and less arrogant than his rider.

"On your mark, get set, GO!" Mulch hit Bucket's bucket with his hook-hand and the race started. "Out of my way." Snotlout hissed, shoving Hiccup aside. He was so desperate to win he resorted to cheating and he didn't notice Aniu, Astrid and Nava glaring at him. Snotlout skillfully dodged all the logs while Hiccup had more trouble. By the time Hiccup reached the cliff, Snotlout was already half-way up. To make the cliff climb more difficult, Vikings dropped down rocks and one hit Snotlout in the face but he just kept climbing.

"Ooh, a rock to the face. I love a good rock to the face." Tuffnut said enthusiastically. Ruffnut picked up a rock and hit her brother in the face with it. "Yeah, that's was I'm talking about." Tuffnut mumbled woozily. Hiccup was half way up the cliff when he saw Snotlout fly away on Hookfang. A rock hit him, causing Hiccup to lose his grip and slide down the cliff. "He's falling!" Gobber and Fengo shouted. "Hiccup!" Astrid and Aniu screamed. "I can't watch." Fishlegs whimpered, closing his eyes and covering Meatlug's eyes with his arm.

Hiccup managed to stop his fall with his prosthetic foot and climbed back up. "That's my boy." Stoick said proudly. "Okay, bud. We've got a lot of ground to make up for." Hiccup once he reached Toothless and mounted him. The Night Fury flew across the sky at furious speeds. "Look at them go!" Mulch yelled into his horn. "He's closing in on Snotlout!" Gobber exclaimed. "I can see that, Gobber." Stoick said, though inside his heart was beating with pride. Hiccup and Toothless caught up with Snotlout and Hookfang and looped around the flagship then headed back to Berk.

Toothless was just behind Hookfang as the two dragons navigated their way through the sea stacks. Then a sea stack appeared right in front of them, forcing the two dragons to fly in opposite directions. "Hiccup has to go the long way around." Astrid gasped. But thanks to the improved tailfin, Hiccup and Toothless made it back to the course. Snotlout and Hookfang were ahead of them but not for long.

Hiccup and Toothless shot past them and Hiccup looked at Snotlout with a smirk but Snotlout was whispering "No, I can't lose. Dad would be so angry at me." With a terrified look on his face. 'What am I doing?" Hiccup asked himself. "I'm sorry, Dad." He adjusted the tailfin, causing Toothless to falter in flight. "Something's wrong." Fishlegs said. Snotlout and Hookfang flew into the arena and crossed the finish line, setting it on fire in celebration. "And Snotlout is the winner of the Thawfest Games!" Mulch announced.

"Now that's a Jorgenson!" Spitelout whooped. "We did it. We did it. We did it!" Snotlout cheered. Hiccup and Toothless flew into the academy. "Nice flying, Snotlout." Hiccup said kindly. "Yeah, you put up a good fight but not good enough." Snotlout said. Both boys stepped up onto the stage where Stoick was waiting for them. "It's been a spectacular Thawfest Games. Perhaps the best ever. These two young men have put on quite a show but alas, there can be only one champion. The Thawfest dynasty continues. The winner and still champion is: Snotlout." Stoick said.

"We did it!" Snotlout cheered at his dragon as he did a little victory dance. Stoick placed the Thawfest medal around Snotlout's neck and he grinned up at his uncle. "You did your family proud." Stoick told his nephew and nodded at his son. Hiccup smiled at his father happily. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!" Snotlout chanted, running around Hookfang. Spitelout chanted along with his son.

Hiccup smiled at this and didn't notice Astrid, Aniu and Nava walk over to him until Astrid punched him on the shoulder. "Ow! What?" Hiccup yelped. "I know what you did." Astrid said. "Yeah, I lost as usual." Hiccup said. "No, you threw the race." Astrid replied. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Astrid. Snotlout was just the better Viking today." Hiccup said. "No, Hiccup. No one was a better Viking than you today." Astrid said then kissed Hiccup on the lips. When they parted, Hiccup was blushing and Aniu and Nava gently punched him on the shoulders before smiling at him.

 **"** **Yep, second again. Some things never change. But I guess certain things are more important than winning. Like being a good friend..."**

Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, Aniu, Nava and Stormfly watched Snotlout celebrate with his father and dragon with smiles on their faces.

 **"** **...even if the friend is that guy. Oh, well, there's always next Thawfest."**

 **As for Stoick and Spitelout being brothers and having different last names, I came up with my own theory.**

 **I wanted to get this chapter over and done with so I could write the next chapter. That's why it only took six days to write it. Next chapter is When Lightning Strikes. That's when the action and the plot picks up.**

 **Christmas is coming Very Soon, it's only two weeks away. And the next thirteen episodes of Dragons: Race to the Edge are coming to Netflix on the 8** **th** **of January 2016. Whoo-hoo! Depends on what happens in the episodes, the more I can write on my stories.**

 **This chapter was ten pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 11.12.2015 Australian Time**


	13. When Lightning Strikes

_"Dragon's speaking"_

 _'telepathical speaking'_

 _Thinking_

 **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly with their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **This takes place about three weeks after Thawfest so Aniu's wing is no longer injured.**

 **Please read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: When Lightning Strikes**

A green Monstrous Nightmare flew over Berk Village and landed on a rooftop beside a purple and blue Gronckle who was resting on another rooftop.

 **"** **Living with dragons has its ups and its downs."**

The rooftop under the Stoker Class dragon suddenly collapsed. The same thing happened to the rooftop under the Boulder Class dragon.

 **"** **You need to stay calm, keep a clear head, not always easy with Vikings."**

Seeing how many rooftops were accidently being destroyed each day by dragons looking for a place to perch, Hiccup and Aniu came up with a solution. Together, they drew up a blueprint of giant perches big and strong enough for dragons to perch on with Gobber. "More supports?" Hiccup asked his mentor. "Uh, well. They are dragons." Gobber shrugged.

 **"** **In our own way, we're very reasonable."**

After the plans and blueprints were finished, construction began. The dragons helped lift the main part of the perches as the Vikings hammered the stands into the ground. The perches were placed in every part of the village. When the time came to test the perches stability, Astrid, Stormfly and Arrow volunteered to be the test subjects. The two Deadly Nadders hovered above the perches. "It's okay, you two. Just take it easy." Astrid calmed Stormfly and Arrow down when they squawked nervously.

Hesitantly, Stormfly and Arrow landed on the metal perches and gripped the metal with their talons. Seconds passed and the metal perches were still standing and hadn't moved a millimetre. _"They're safe!"_ Stormfly chirped. "Yes, they work!" Hiccup and Aniu hollered. "Way to go!" Gobber whooped. Snotlout let out a cheer, immensely relieved he didn't have to fix his roof every other day anymore. "Nice work!" Nava yelled. Fishlegs gave Astrid and her Nadders a thumbs-up.

But two certain Thorston twins weren't as happy as the others. "So we built these things so stuff wouldn't break." Tuffnut asked incredulously. "Well, yeah. That's the whole point of these perches. Instead of perching on the roofs and breaking them, the dragons can perch on these perches without breaking anything." Aniu said. "I don't understand you people." Ruffnut grumbled. "And they tricked us into helping them build these perches. I feel so used...and sweaty." Tuffnut muttered, going home with his sister.

* * *

 **"** **But when a problem is caused by something Vikings don't understand, they lose all sense of reason. And that can become very dangerous."**

To celebrate the success of the dragon perches, Hiccup and Stoick invited Aniu, Nava, Fengo, Namara and Gobber over to their house for dinner. Toothless ate some fresh fish from a basket beside the table."Perches for dragons. Some of your best work, you two." Stoick praised Hiccup and Aniu then looked at the contents of his cup. "We'll have to move the one over the well."

"And the perches are just the beginning. We could build landing areas for them, maybe even stables in the caves underneath the village." Hiccup said, sounding excited. "Oh, what about feeding stations for the dragons who don't have someone to feed them. Bath stations where dirty dragons can get a bath and be groomed." Aniu said. "Fire prevention sounds like a good idea because there is still some dragons who accidently keep setting things on fire, mainly rooftops." Nava added his own idea.

"I wish there was a Health Clinic or hospital where sick and injured dragons and Vikings can go. Gothi often has trouble keeping up with the list of injuries and illnesses." Namara remarked. "All of your ideas sound brilliant and I believe places like the blacksmith's could use some renovations and improvements." Fengo said. "Easy, you five. Remember, Berk is still for the people." Stoick chuckled. "Vikings before dragons." Gobber said. _"Hey."_ Toothless snapped, throwing Gobber a look. "Yeah, I said it. Deal with it." Gobber laughed.

Suddenly, a loud rumble of thunder was heard. Everyone ran outside and saw lightning bolts striking the metal perches. "The lightning is hitting everywhere." Hiccup observed. "You're right about that." Aniu nearly whimpered. Nava remembered how Aniu used to be scared of thunder and lightning storms and wrapped an arm and a wing around her. "Thanks, Nava." Aniu whispered, snuggling into him. "It doesn't usually strike here in the village." Stoick said in a troubled voice.

"Thor must be angry. The only other time I can remember lightning ever striking Berk..." Gobber began. "Barnstat," He and Stoick said together. "Barn-who?" Hiccup, Aniu, Fengo, Namara and Nava asked. "Jurgen Barnstat, drifter, sailed into town. He was stealing from widows and old people." Stoick explained. "To punish him, Thor gave him a lightning bolt right to his helmet when he was fixing the mast of his ship to make his escape." Gobber told them. "By the time Thor was finished with him, our whole fleet was on fire." Stoick said. "We shipped him off the island and Thor hasn't hit the village since." Gobber said.

"Threw him off the island. That's pretty harsh." Hiccup said. "That's sounds like a pretty heavy punishment for stealing." Nava remarked. "Wouldn't it have been better if you just put him in jail?" Aniu asked. People started screaming when bolts of lightning redirected off the metal perches and set houses on fire. Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara ran down to help the fire brigade.

A Terrible Terror was caught in the midst of the chaos and called for help. Firesnow flew down and rescued it. A lightning struck nearby and frightened Toothless, causing him to run away. "Toothless!" Hiccup, Aniu and Nava yelled. Stoick picked up a trough of water and threw it at a burning house, extinguishing most of the flames.

Fengo and Namara used water magic to put out more fires. Dragons grabbed buckets full of water and used them to help the fire brigade. "We gotta find Toothless." Aniu said, shielding herself with her wing. "Yeah, now that's what I'm talking about." Tuffnut said, surveying the destruction with his sister. Boomer-Banger were lying between Ruffnut and Tuffnut with a head on both twin's laps. "I always liked Thor." Ruffnut smirked.

"Oh, I always loved these storms. When it rains, I run through the village and throw buckets of water at people." Snotlout said. "We know. The village has had meetings about it." Fishlegs replied, having been on the receiving of the water buckets quite a few times. Stormfly landed beside Hiccup, Aniu and Nava with Astrid on her back. "I need your help. I need to find Toothless." Hiccup told his girlfriend. "I just saw him by the Great Hall." Astrid said, helping Hiccup onto Stormfly's back. _"He was looking pretty scared."_ The sky blue Deadly Nadder said.

Stormfly, Aniu and Nava flew up to the Great Hall where villagers had started evacuating to. "Don't worry, men. You're going to be alright." Stoick said, laying two men who had been struck by lightning on the ground. Namara started tending to them. "The lightning's striking throughout the entire village. It's like we're under siege." Mulch said. "I never seen Thor this angry." Bucket whimpered. Fengo turned to him. "Bucket, did your bucket start tightening up before all this started happening?" He asked. "No." Bucket answered. "Then, this storm is not a natural storm. The sky was only slightly cloudy today." Fengo summarised.

Stormfly, Aniu and Nava landed on the ground beside the Great Hall and saw (along with Hiccup and Astrid) Toothless on a perch. Then a bolt of lightning struck the perch, forcing Toothless to jump to another perch but the same thing happened over and over again. A certain old man noticed this. He wanted to get every dragon banished off the island and he found a perfect opportunity that he could manipulate to his own advantage to get what he wanted. "Did you all see that?" Mildew asked, gesturing with his staff at Toothless as the Night Fury continuously jumped from perch to perch whenever lightning struck.

Some other Vikings were watching the scene. "Look, the lightning is following him." Mulch said. Toothless glided over to his friends and let Hiccup and Aniu hug him. "Don't you all understand? Thor is mad at all of us and I'll tell you why: because of him." Mildew yelled, pointing at Toothless accusingly. "What?" Aniu yelped in shock. "As you all know: the Night Fury is the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself." Mildew continued. "So-called!" Nava shouted.

"We let him live among us and now we'll all pay the price." Mildew said. "Well, it did seem as though the lightning struck right at the dragon." Mulch added. "Yes, right at the dragon. And a lightning storm the likes of which we never had. There is but one thing for us to do: banish the Night Fury! It's the only way." Mildew exclaimed, mentally laughing in triumph. "No!" Hiccup, Aniu and Nava yelled. "Why, Mildew. You filthy, stinking, old, selfish, arrogant man. I oughtta..." Namara hissed, advancing on Mildew with her fist raised and wings flaring out, ready to beat the old coot up but Fengo held her back even though he was as angry as his wife.

Many villagers began murmuring in agreement. _This is not looking good._ Stoick thought. Hiccup, Aniu and Nava could only hug Toothless nervously and hope that nothing worse would happen.

* * *

Pretty soon, a crowd had formed and was listening to Mildew. "Thor is angry at us because of the Night Fury. You all saw it." The old man said. Vikings began talking amongst each other in agreement. "What? No! This is ridiculous." Hiccup exclaimed. "What Mildew is saying is wrong!" Aniu tried to convince the crowd."If we don't act now, well, do I need to remind you of Barnstat?" Mildew asked. Vikings gasped in alarm, remembering the terrible lightning storms all those years ago.

Stoick decided enough was enough and stepped in. "You're right, all of you. Thor is angry. But I don't believe he's angry at Toothless." He said. "That's right. Have you all forgotten what Toothless has done for this village?" Hiccup asked. "Well then, who do you suppose Thor is angry at?" Mildew asked. "I don't presume to know Thor's mind, Mildew. But we will find a way to soothe his anger." Stoick said.

Mildew scowled at him before catching sight of Aniu, Nava, Fengo and Namara's wings and pointed ears. "And what are we going to do about these winged freaks?" He asked, pointing at the guardians with his staff. Everyone gasped at Mildew's audacity. "Perhaps Thor is angry at them as well because of their magical powers" Mildew sneered at the last two words. "For all we know, they could be planning to enslave or even kill us. And they're always flaunting around and showing off their powers so why shouldn't we banish them off the island forever?"

"But the guardians have never anything bad to us and if they wanted to, they would've done it by now." Phlegma the Fierce shouted. But there was a small amount of people who followed Mildew and they didn't like the guardians and dragons either. Seeing how little of the villagers supported him, Mildew left. "Are you four okay?" Stoick asked Aniu, Nava, Fengo and Namara. "We're fine. Mildew's always willing to go to great lengths to get what he wants. Why should today be any different?" Aniu said. Her parents and boyfriend nodded in agreement.

* * *

The next morning, the storm had had mostly gone away but thunder and lightning was still heard and seen. The dragon riders and guardians had gathered in the village plaza. "Another storm is coming." Hiccup said worriedly, staring up at the sky. "Thor tore a hole in the Great Hall. Maybe he's hungry, I know I am." Tuffnut remarked. "We need to make Thor happy. But what do you get for the god of thunder and lightning?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't really know. I think Thor has already everything he wants and needs up in Asgard." Aniu remarked before noticing some villagers passing by. One of them pointed at her and Nava and whispered something that made his companions cast suspicious looks at the two guardians. Aniu stared at her yellow boots while Nava pretended he didn't notice.

"Don't worry, you two. We are going to protect you two and Toothless at all costs even if I have to use my axe. Because no one threatens us or our dragons." Astrid reassured. _"If Mildew or his cronies want to get near you three, they'll have to go through all of us."_ Stormfly said. "Thanks, Astrid and Stormfly." Aniu and Nava said, smiling at the Hofferson girl and her dragon. "In the past, I know Thor's enjoyed a sacrifice or two." Fishlegs said, returning the subject to what they were previously talking about.

"Let's sacrifice Tuffnut." Ruffnut said. "Okay. What time should I be there? There better be fire involved." Tuffnut muttered. "Nobody's gonna be sacrificed." Hiccup said firmly. "Not yet anyway." Snotlout snickered. "I had an aunt who was cursed by Odin once. She has to pay tribute to him by sailing the end of the earth." Astrid said. "Did it work?" Fishlegs asked. "I don't know. I guess she couldn't find it because she kept showing up from the opposite direction." Astrid answered.

"That's because the earth is round. It's shaped like a ball, basically the shape of a catapult boulder." Nava said. "A guardian from long ago named Brangwen was responsible for learning that fact when he tried to find the edge of the world." Aniu said. "The gods have never been mad at anyone from my family. Knock on wood, hop on one foot, slap a Jorgenson." Fishlegs said, doing an example but when he reached Snotlout, he poked him instead of hitting him and Snotlout shoved him away.

"If I was Thor, I would want a giant statue of myself. Snotlout as Thor." Snotlout said, standing on Hookfang's head. "You do know we're trying to make him happy?" Astrid asked. "Exactly." Snotlout said. "Actually, that's not a bad idea." Hiccup said. "What do you mean, Hiccup?" Astrid asked her boyfriend. "I mean the statue and it's not Snotlout." Hiccup said. "We're going to make a statue of Thor." Aniu realized.

"Hm, Berk has never given Thor a statue." Fishlegs said thoughtfully. "Well then, it's high time we did." Hiccup said. And with those words, construction began on Thor's statue in the forge.

* * *

Snotlout melted pieces of metal with Hookfang providing the firepower. The Thorston twins were given the job to build the upper legs. They were using Barf-Belch's necks as anvils. At one point, Ruffnut bonked her hammer on her brother's helmet, causing him to yelp and her to giggle. Tuffnut retaliated and it became a bonking contest which was broken up by Aniu. "All right, break it up, you two. We need to get this finished first then you can bonk each other silly." She told them. Then, Mildew passed by.

"Hooligans! Winged freaks!" He yelled at Aniu and Nava who did their best to ignore him. "Technically, we're all hooligans, Mildew! It's the name of our tribe, remember!" Ruffnut shouted. "Call Aniu and Nava winged freaks again and we'll throw a whole bunch of hammers at you!" Tuffnut yelled. Mildew growled and left. Once the old man was gone, the twins grinned at Aniu and Nava. "We got yah back just like Hiccup and Astrid." Ruffnut and Tuffnut chirped. "Thanks, guys." Both guardians smiled gratefully.

Astrid and Stormfly were crafting the cape. Stormfly stuck together iron plates using her tail spines. Astrid smiled and fed her Deadly Nadder some chicken. Snotlout and Hookfang were working on Thor's knees. But there was something wrong with them. "Great job. Uh, one issue. Thor's knee bends the other way. You know, like a knee on a person." Hiccup said. Snotlout checked his knee and realized his mistake.

Fishlegs was hammering together Thor's lower body with Meatlug using her chin to serve as the mould. But she kept tipping from side to side, forcing Fishlegs to keep pushing her back upright. "What are you doing?" Nava asked. "I'm making Thor's lower body. I hope the statue works. I don't wanna deal with these lightning storms any longer." Fishlegs said. "Yeah, I don't want to deal with them any more as well." Nava muttered, before Fishlegs yelled "DUCK!" as one of Mildew's followers threw a fist-sized rock at him. Nava ducked, raised his hand and fired a lightning bolt at the rock, breaking it into pieces. "Okay, that's it. I had enough of these people trying to hurt my friends!" Snotlout yelled, ordering Hookfang to chase the guy away. For once, Hookfang obeyed, set himself on fire and chased the Mildew-follower away. "Thanks, Hookfang and Snotlout." Nava sighed in relief as Hookfang returned.

 _"_ _No problem."/_ "Anytime." The Monstrous Nightmare and his rider said. "Okay guys. We better start welding these pieces together." Hiccup said, staring at the dark clouds filling the sky. "Yeah, I really think Thor's going to like this." Aniu said. **5**

Once the statue was completed, the dragon riders and guardians covered it with a tarp and positioned it outside the Great Hall. A crowd had formed, wanting to see what was going to be unveiled. "Attention, everyone." Hiccup called. "Okay, I know we're not exactly Thor's favourite people right now but I am confident that this beautiful statue will go a long way toward getting us back into his good graces. So, without further ado..." With those words, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless pulled the tarp off and revealed the statue in all its glory.

The crowd let out 'oohs' and 'aahs' as they took in the sight. "Well done. Thor will appreciate this tribute and will smile upon us once again." Stoick congratulated. Everyone cheered and applauded but Mildew wasn't happy.

"Do you really think this is enough to appease the mighty Thor while you allow a Night Fury and four winged freaks in your midst? You're fools! All of you!" He shouted.

* * *

That evening, the storms had only gotten worse. "Unbelievable. Even more lightning than the last storm." Hiccup commented. "Oh, great." Aniu sighed. "Maybe we should've built the perches and the statue out of wood and stone." Nava said, reading a book. "I don't understand. We gave Thor a giant statue." Gobber exclaimed. "It was a gallant effort but it looks as though this is not what Thor wanted." Stoick said. "I think you Vikings put too much stock into your gods." Namara commented. "Yeah, Mum. There has to be a logical explanation for this." Aniu said. "Those storms don't seem to be magical." Nava said. "It probably has something to do with science." Fengo said.

Hearing another rumble of thunder, Gobber took a step away from Toothless. "Gobber, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked. "Uh, I love Toothless. I'm just erring on the side of caution." Gobber said. _"As much as I hate to admit this but I'm scared."_ Toothless admitted. "Toothless just said he's scared." Aniu told Hiccup who knelt down to comfort his Night Fury. "Hey, don't worry, bud. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. No matter what some people think." Hiccup said. Gobber looked sheepishly at the ground.

* * *

In Fishlegs's house, Meatlug had left the den she shared with Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie and went into Fishlegs's room to comfort her rider. Sniffing around, she found him hiding underneath his bed. "I know you're scared, girl. But if you want to hold me, that's what I'm here for." Fishlegs said, crawling out from underneath his bed and embracing his Gronckle.

However, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were sitting on the roof of their house and cracking nuts on each other's helmets to eat while watching the storm. "Whoa, look at all that damage and destruction." Ruffnut whispered in awe, cracking a nut open on her brother's helmet and eating the insides. "I know, it's so beautiful." Tuffnut murmured. Then a lightning bolt set a house on fire. "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Ruffnut exclaimed. "Whoa, no one blows stuff up like Thor." Tuffnut said, cracking a nut open on his sister's helmet and eating the insides.

Villagers stared expectedly at the Statue of Thor and cried out in alarm when lightning bolts redirected off the metal and set houses on fire. Mildew was ready to get the villagers on his side. "You see? That's what Thor thinks of the statue! I told you what he wants and we haven't given it to him! Until we rid this island of that Night Fury, Thor's fire will continue to rain down upon all of us!" Mildew shouted. "What about the guardians?" A Viking asked. "If the storms haven't gone by the time the Night Fury is off this island, then we'll ship those winged freaks off as well." Mildew yelled.

* * *

The storm was still raging on and Aniu was lying down beside Toothless in her wolf form. "You don't really Thor is angry because of Toothless, do you?" Hiccup asked while he petted Toothless on the head and stroked Aniu's fur. "I course I don't." Stoick said. Then someone knocked at the door. "Open up, Stoick. We've come for the Night Fury!" Mildew's voice yelled.

"But I'm afraid they do. Hiccup, Aniu, get Toothless to a safe place. I'll try to reason with them" Stoick hissed. Hiccup ran forward and grabbed his father's arm. "But..." He started to protest. "Just go." Stoick told him. Fengo, Namara and Nava gave Aniu quick hugs. "Safe travels, old friend." Gobber told Toothless, petting the Night Fury on the head then Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless ran upstairs and jumped out of Hiccup and Toothless's bedroom window. But before they left, the trio peeked around the house and saw Mildew at the front door with a whole bunch of people behind him. All of them were yelling and shouting.

"Come on, guys." Hiccup whispered and he, Aniu and Toothless ran into the woods. Stoick, Gobber, Fengo, Namara and Nava went outside the face the crowd. "Give up the dragon, Stoick! Look at your people, we had enough!" Mildew yelled. "You're too late. He's gone." Stoick said. "Stoick has already sent him off the island." Gobber lied. "Thor says over wise. The dragon must still be on the island. Find the Night Fury!" Mildew yelled and left with the mob following him. Stoick, Gobber, Fengo, Namara and Nava glanced at each other nervously. This wasn't looking good.

* * *

Astrid and Stormfly had caught up with Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu. "We can hide Toothless in the cove for now." Astrid said. "They'll just find him. No, we'll have to leave." Hiccup said. "We?" Astrid asked. "Toothless can't fly by himself. He'll need someone to control his prosthetic tailfin. Hiccup is the only one who can do that properly and I'm going with them." Aniu said. "But you three will come back, right?" Astrid asked hopefully. "Yeah, eventually. When they all realize this didn't happen because of Toothless." Hiccup said. Astrid heard voices approaching and said "You three better go." But before they left, Astrid gave Hiccup a quick kiss on the lips. Hiccup smiled and ran off with Aniu and Toothless following him.

Astrid and Stormfly watched Toothless (with Hiccup on his back) and Aniu fly up into the sky. They had only just vanished from sight when Mildew and his mob saw her. "Where's the boy and his guardian friend? And more importantly, where's the dragon?" Mildew asked. "I don't know, Mildew. But you got your wish. Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless are gone." Astrid hissed angrily. Stormfly stood behind her rider and snarled, flaring her wings. Mildew stared at Astrid before saying "Oh, bah! Find the Night Fury!" and left with the mob.

Once they were gone, Nava landed beside her and together, he, Astrid and Stormfly stared up at the stormy sky.

* * *

Toothless and Aniu landed in the forest and saw a mob walking through the trees with torches held in their hands. "This is reminding me of the witch hunts I read about." Aniu said softly. Hiccup and Toothless nodded and before long, they were back up in the sky.

Toothless and Aniu flew in silence until lightning bolts struck around them. One lucky lightning bolt struck Toothless's prosthetic tailfin, burning the leather fabric away. With his fake tailfin gone, Toothless plummeted back to earth. "Toothless!" Hiccup screamed and Aniu turned into her dragon form and tried to grab the Night Fury but missed. Mildew saw them and shouted "There they are!"

Hiccup and Toothless crash-landed through a tree and landed painfully on the ground. Aniu turned back into her human form and helped Hiccup up. "You okay, bud?" Hiccup asked. Toothless glanced at his destroyed prosthetic tailfin. Only the metal skeleton of it remained. "That's where the lightning hit." Hiccup said, then he stood up and stared at the lightning bolts striking the metal perches and Thor's statue.

Aniu suddenly gasped, causing Hiccup and Toothless to stare at her. "I know why these lightning storms are happening! It's because of the metal perches and statue we put up. Thor isn't responsible for this at all! Back on Guardian Island where I used to live with my parents and Nava, we had classes about different things and one thing we learned in science class is that lightning is attracted to many types of metal because of metal's magnetic properties. If we want perches for the dragons and no unnatural lightning storms, then we need to get rid of the metal perches and statue and replace the metal with wood and stone." Aniu realized. "Aniu, you are a complete, utter genius!" Hiccup exclaimed. _"I completely agree."_ Toothless exclaimed.

"We need to tell everyone right away." Aniu said urgently. Hiccup and Toothless nodded but before they could move, Toothless was ensnared by bolas. "Secure the dragon!" Mildew ordered as he and his mob arrived on the scene. "Toothless!" Hiccup and Aniu screamed but two men grabbed them and dragged the two teens over to Mildew. "Don't try and stop us. You'll only make it worse for your precious dragon," Mildew sneered. The other Vikings had managed to restrain Toothless and loaded him onto a cart, chaining the Night Fury up in the same way Toothless had been chained up on Stoick's ship before the Battle of the Red Death.

"Say your goodbyes." Mildew sneered as the Vikings grabbed Toothless away. "Toothless!" Hiccup and Aniu screamed, running up to the cart but tripped and fell down. "Well, that takes care of that." Mildew said triumphantly. Hiccup and Aniu glared at him, their emerald green eyes burning with hatred and fury.

* * *

At the docks, Mildew and his mob were about to load Toothless onto a ship when Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara pushed their way past. "I know you are afraid but this isn't how we do things on Berk." Stoick said. "These dragons are not the beasts you once thought they were. They are a part of us now." Fengo said. "Not this one. Not anymore." Mildew hissed, pointing at Toothless with his staff. "Release the dragon, Mildew." Stoick ordered.

"Open your eyes, Stoick. It's the only solution and you know it. It worked with Barnstat and it'll work with Toothless." Mildew said.

* * *

Hiccup and Aniu frantically searched through the forge, looking for a suitable metal object they could use. They found a metal spear leaning against a wall and Hiccup picked it up. Then, Astrid, Nava, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran into the forge."Hiccup, Aniu, they've got Toothless." Astrid panted. "They're about to float him out to sea." Nava gasped out.

"We know. We were there when they captured him." Aniu said. "Why do you think I have this?" Hiccup asked, holding up the spear. "Ooh, tough one. How many guesses do we get? Five?" Tuffnut asked, thinking they were playing a game. "Okay, Astrid. Fly me to the docks." Hiccup said, grabbing Astrid's hand and leading her to Stormfly. Once Hiccup and Astrid were on Stormfly's back, the Deadly Nadder, Aniu and Nava flew to the docks where the situation was getting tense...

* * *

...because the Vikings were getting desperate and were slowly advancing on Toothless. "If you want to that dragon..." Namara yelled. "...you're gonna have to go through us!" Fengo finished his wife's sentence. Bucket and Mulch pushed their way through the mob and stood beside their chief and his friends. 'Thank you, lads." Stoick said gratefully. "If we're choosing sides, Mulch, there's more over there. Lots more." Bucket said nervously. "We stand with the chief, Bucket." Mulch said firmly.

"Stop!" Two familiar voices yelled. Everyone looked up and saw Hiccup and Astrid flying in on Stormfly with Aniu and Nava flying beside the Deadly Nadder. Stormfly landed, allowing Hiccup to dismount. "You could get rid of Toothless, you could throw him off the edge of the world, you could banish Aniu and her fellow guardians but it's not going to stop this lightning from destroying Berk." Hiccup said.

"What's he saying?"/ "I don't believe it." Some Vikings said. "It's the metal." Hiccup said, holding up the spear and cringing as another lightning bolt lit up the sky. "The lightning is hitting the metal. Just think about it. We never had a lightning storm like this until we put up those perches. And that statue! And they are all made of metal." Hiccup finished. "Oh, bah! Have you ever heard of something so insane?" Mildew asked. "It's not insane, it's science which you don't even understand at all!" Aniu yelled.

Hiccup ran over to Toothless and held up his dragon's tail, showing the crowd the destroyed prosthetic tailfin. "You see, this is where the lightning struck Toothless on this metal connecting rod. If you don't believe me, I can prove it." He said then ran over to Stormfly and mounted her. "Fly me up." He told Astrid. Stormfly flew upwards and Hiccup jumped off her back onto a ship's mast. Aniu and Nava hovered nearby anxiously. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Astrid asked anxiously.

"'Sure'. Uh, that's a strong word. It's really more off a hunch. I'll be fine, go." Hiccup said. Reluctantly, Astrid had Stormfly fly her down to the docks and land. "Oh, boy, here he goes again." Gobber muttered. "I hope he doesn't get hurt." Namara whispered in concern. "He doesn't make it easy. Hiccup!" Stoick yelled. You'll all see for yourselves. When I attach this metal rod to the top of this mast, the lightning will be drawn to..." Hiccup started to say but a lightning bolt struck the spear, electrocuting him in the process.

"Hiccup!" Stoick, Aniu, Nava, Astrid, Fengo and Namara screamed as Hiccup's body lit up from electricity. To everyone's horror, Hiccup lost consciousness and started to fall from the mast. Aniu regained her senses, flew up and grabbed Hiccup before he could fall into the water. Toothless had managed to break free from his chains when Hiccup had been electrocuted and waited for Aniu to gently place Hiccup's motionless body on the dock.

Stoick, Nava, Astrid, Fengo and Namara knelt beside Hiccup and Aniu while the latter tried to wake Hiccup up. Toothless desperately nudged his rider's body only to receive no response. Stoick checked his son's heartbeat but could not feel or hear anything. "His heart's not beating!" Stoick exclaimed in terror. He already lost Valka, he could not bear to lose his son and only child.

Just then, Aniu remembered something. "Wait! I read somewhere that one lightning bolt can stop a heart, but a second lightning bolt can restart it. I may be the only way to save him." She exclaimed. Stoick nodded and let Aniu place her hands on Hiccup's chest. _Dear God, Draco, Glaux, Lupus and all the gods and goddesses of Asgard, please, let this work._ Aniu mentally prayed and summoning her magic to electrify Hiccup with a small lightning bolt. _One, two..._ Aniu counted down and on _three,_ her hands glowed violet and Hiccup's body writhed and spasmed as electricity raced through it.

Aniu stopped the flow of magic and cast a healing spell on Hiccup to make sure he didn't have any injuries then put her pointed ear on Hiccup's chest. Hiccup suddenly coughed and gasped for air."His heart's beating and he's breathing again!" Aniu exclaimed in pure joy and relief. Everyone (except for Mildew) cheered and Stoick, Aniu and Astrid actually began crying. Toothless pounced on Aniu and bombarded her with licks of gratitude saying _"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"_ over and over again.

Astrid half-strangled Aniu to death (not intentionally of course) in a big bear hug. "Thank you so much for saving my boyfriend." The Hofferson girl whispered into Aniu's pointed ears. Stormfly roared in joy and once Astrid had let Aniu go, Nava embraced his girlfriend lovingly. "I was so scared we were going to lose him." He whispered in her ears. "Hiccup needs to be taken home. What he needs is rest." Namara said after casting a diagnostic charm on Hiccup.

Stoick nodded happily, picked his son up, called Thornado and mounted his dragon. The Thunderdrum flapped his wings and flew to the Haddock house where Stoick put Hiccup down to rest.

* * *

The very next morning, Hiccup woke up in his bed. The first thing he was aware of was Toothless staring at his now-awake rider while trying to control his emotions. "Toothless, what happened, bud?" He asked, stroking his Night Fury's head then he checked his foot. "At least I didn't lose my other foot." Hiccup said, letting Toothless nuzzle him.

Then, Stoick and Gobber walked up the stairs into his room. "My boy. You're alright. You took a lightning bolt to the head." Stoick said joyfully, picking Hiccup up and giving him a hug. "Just like Barnstat, except we won't be throwing you off the island." Gobber added. "So, everyone knows Thor wasn't mad at Toothless?" Hiccup asked hopefully. "They do now." Stoick answered. "Until we figure out why Thor was angry at the metal, we're all walking on eggshells." Gobber chimed in.

"There's a scientific explanation behind that. You better talk to Aniu about it." Hiccup said before a certain guardian charged up the stairs and hugged him with her arms and wings. "Hiccup! You have no idea how much you scared us when that lightning bolt struck you and your heart stopped." Aniu said, trying to keep her emotions under control.

"Wait, my heart stopped?" Hiccup asked as Fengo and Namara came upstairs. "Yes, your heart stopped when the lightning struck you." Fengo said gently. "And Aniu restarted your heart by electrocuting you." Namara said. "While a lightning bolt can stop a heart, a second bolt can restart it." Aniu said. Hiccup smiled at his surrogate sister and hugged her back.

* * *

Once things had settled down, they headed outside to see the metal perches and statue in the process of being taken down. "Ah, we worked so hard on that statue, it's kind of a shame to scrape it for parts." Hiccup sighed in disappointment. "Well, maybe we don't have to. Why don't you take it to one of the high points on the island and leave it there." Stoick suggested.

"Good idea, chief. I would've thought of it myself but I'm not the chief." Tuffnut said. "Oh, we'll handle it for you." Snotlout said happily. "I think I know where you are going with this and I like this idea." Aniu smirked, ready to get some revenge.

* * *

In his house, Mildew was eating a small meal when he heard a loud thud. Grumbling to himself, he got up, tripped over Fungus and opened his door. He found the statue of Thor standing right outside his door. A rope dropped onto and Mildew saw the dragon riders and guardians flying away. "You'll pay for this!" He screamed up at them.

"I'm not sure that's what my dad had in mind, guys." Hiccup said. "Hey, that's the way I understood it." Snotlout protested.

* * *

 **"** **No matter how much things change around here, Vikings are still Vikings. They're not afraid to admit when they are wrong."**

In the Haddock house, Hiccup and Aniu heard a knock at the door, opened it and saw a bunch of villagers standing outside, each one holding baskets of bread, fish, chicken, cloth, etc. They let the villagers in and one little girl gave Toothless a fish. The Night Fury happily accepted it and let the girl stroke his scales.

 **"** **And when they do, watch out. Because you'll be up to your ears in pie and smoked fish."**

Once the villagers put their baskets down and gave their apologies, they left. But where Mildew lived, the old man was screaming in terror as lightning redirected off the statue and into his house. Fungus watched from the safety of outside and bleated. Eh, Mildew will be fine, probably.

 **Snotlout kissing his arms (dry-heaves) is just disgusting.**

 **This chapter was eleven pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 17.12.2015 Australian Time.**


	14. What Flies Beneath

_Dragon's speaking"_

 _'telepathical speaking'_

 _Thinking_

 **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly with their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf-Belch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **Please read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: What Flies Beneath**

It was a peaceful night on Berk and some yaks and sheep were eating grass, revelling in the peace and quiet while Vikings slept in their beds. But the peace and quiet atmosphere was soon broken when a yak heard rumbling and was pulled underground. Three sheep met the same fate and cracks formed on the ground. Something was tunnelling underground.

 **"** **Everybody has a past, even dragons. And sometimes, the past can come back to haunt them."**

In the Haddock house, Hiccup was woken up when his Night Fury Toothless growled and paced around the room. "Uh, Toothless. Go back to sleep." He groaned.

* * *

 **"** **And when it does, you're going to need to be there for them."**

The next morning, Stoick, Gobber, Fengo, Namara and some other villagers stood around a large hole in the ground. Toothless walked up to it, snarled, then roared with his wings flared out. "Whoa, hey. Come on. It's just a hole, bud." Hiccup attempted to calm his dragon down. "A very deep one to be exact." Aniu said, bending down on her hands and knees and staring at the bottom when Bucket showed up.

"It's not just a hole, it's like an underground village." He yelled up to them. "Bucket, oh, there you are. I've been looking for you all morning." Mulch said. "Sorry, Mulch. But I think I finally found it. My happy place!" Bucket called up. "Your happy place is a hole in the ground?" Aniu managed to ask before something with bad vision saw Bucket in its tunnel and ejected Bucket out in a cloud of dirt.

"Are you alright, Bucket?" Stoick asked, running over to where Bucket had landed. "I'm not so happy anymore." Bucket whimpered. "What happened?" Fengo asked. "Something pushed me out. Something's down there, something big." Bucket told them nervously. Toothless suddenly growled and jumped into the hole, there were tunnels branching off in every direction.

The ground started shaking and everyone heard a peculiar sound. "What is that sound?" Astrid asked. "I'm not sure." Nava said. "Whatever it is, it's giving me the willies." Gobber said. Just then, in a spray of dirt, a large snake-like dragon shot out of the hole. It had a long, legless, snake-like body. A large, round head with two, pupiless, white eyes. Two small wings. Its mouth was full of razor sharp teeth that spun around the mouth. The dragon was covered head to-tailtip in spikes. The ones on the body could be fired like Deadly Nadder spines.

"Whoa, look at that thing!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Do I have to?" Fishlegs squeaked. "Dragons, everyone!" Astrid ordered. The riders except for Hiccup ran to their dragons and mounted. The snake-like dragon hissed and stared at each dragon and rider pair. "I don't like the way it's eyeballing me." Snotlout whimpered. _"I don't like it either."_ Hookfang said. "Don't worry. It's not just you." Fishlegs said. "Thanks. Big relief." Snotlout said sarcastically.

"We should find out what its intentions are and if they're bad, then we should chase it out of here." Nava said, turning into his dragon form with his wings flared out. The snake- like dragon burrowed underground and vanished. "What was that?" Astrid asked slowly. "Whatever it was, I want one." Tuffnut said happily. "If I had to take a guess, I'd say that was a Whispering Death." Fishlegs said.

"Whoa, great name. So much better than Hideous Zippleback." Tuffnut said, covering Belch's ear slits but Barf heard him and threw Tuffnut a look. "Whispering Deaths are said to have a very long memory and I saw Whispering Deaths a few times before back at Guardian Island." Nava said. "Where did it go? What's it going to do to us? Why aren't you slapping me to snap me out of this?" Bucket asked, voice getting louder with each question. "Because I'm scared too, Bucket." Mulch replied.

The Whispering Death surfaced again. "It looks angry. Why don't you do that thing where you touch its nose and feed it dragon nip?" Gobber asked Hiccup and Aniu. "Okay. Fishlegs, what do we know about the Whispering Death?" Hiccup asked. "Boulder Class, razor-sharp teeth, incredibly strong, hunts from underground." Fishlegs said. "Now I really want one!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "So, how do we deal with this thing?" Snotlout asked impatiently.

"Stand back, everyone! Thornado and Sonica have something to say to this beast!" Stoick ordered, flying in on Thornado with Sonica beside them. Both Thunderdrums shot sonic blasts at the Whispering Death who roared at them and it was a quite roar. The dragon seemed to be living up to its species name.

"I don't think it's got its listening ears on." Gobber remarked. "Alright, let's run this thing out of here!" Astrid yelled. Nava, Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug and Barf-Belch flew up and hovered behind Thornado and Sonica. Toothless jumped out of the tunnel, snarled and roared at the other dragons. _"Back off, guys. This is my fight!"_ The Night Fury roared. The dragons did as they were told.

"What is Toothless doing?" Snotlout asked. "I think he wants us to back off." Astrid guessed. "He does. He said this is his fight." Nava said. "No problem here." Fishlegs said. Toothless and the Whispering Death glared at each other. "Toothless!" Hiccup and Aniu screamed. Both dragons lunged at each other and started fighting.

Toothless spat plasma blasts at the Whispering Death but the Boulder Class dragon agilely dodged each one. Toothless tried to fly up but kept falling back to the ground. The Whispering Death noticed the Night Fury's prosthetic tailfin and smirked. "Toothless can't fly without me." Hiccup said. "He's a sitting duck." Aniu groaned. "Gobber, man the catapults." Stoick ordered, landing beside Gobber on Thornado. "And when that thing is clear of Toothless, fire!"

"Dad, wait!" Hiccup yelled, running over to Toothless. "Just let me help you, bud." He tried to mount his dragon but Toothless shoved him away and ran off. "Toothless?" Hiccup gasped in shock. "What was that all about?" Astrid asked, running up to her boyfriend. "I have no idea." Hiccup said. The Whispering Death shot spines at Toothless and one of them impaled the Night Fury's left rear leg, causing him to howl in pain.

"Gobber!" Stoick shouted. Gobber catapulted a boulder at the Whispering Death and hit it in the face. A ray of sunlight shone through the clouds. The Whispering Death hissed and tunnelled away. Toothless watched it go as Hiccup and Aniu ran over to him. "Oh no, you're hurt." Hiccup gasped, seeing the spike in his dragon's leg. "Just hold still, Toothless while we get the spike out." Aniu said softly. Hiccup gently pulled the spike out, causing Toothless to hiss in pain. "Sorry, bud." Hiccup apologized. Aniu used a spell to stop the minimal bleeding and a healing spell to heal the wound. "There you go." Aniu said gently as the emerald green glow vanished from her hands.

 _"_ _Thanks."_ Toothless said gratefully and ran off. "Toothless, wait!" Hiccup yelled. "Where is he going?" Astrid and Nava asked. "Probably running away to lick his wounds." Snotlout snickered. "It's not funny. Toothless could've been killed. He can't fly without me, remember?" Hiccup said, glaring at his cousin.

"And whose fault is that?" Snotlout sing-songed. "Seriously, did you just go there?" Astrid asked angrily. "Hey, I call it like I see it." Snotlout said. "Um, does anybody want to talk about what in the name of Thor just happened?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "Uh, dragon fight. Just another day on Berk." Tuffnut said. "Uh, not really. It seemed like there was way more to it than that." Fishlegs said. "He's right. The Whispering Death singled Toothless out." Aniu said. "And Toothless wanted that dragon to himself." Nava added.

"Yeah, he certainly did. But why?" Hiccup agreed with his friend. "Uh, are we gonna be tested on this? Because I'm completely confused." Tuffnut asked. "Well, don't look at me." Ruffnut shrugged. Hiccup, Aniu, Astrid and Nava stared at Toothless who was standing guard on a ledge outside the Great Hall.

* * *

"I really wish you could just tell Aniu and I what was going on out there today." Hiccup told his Night Fury who was still on high alert that night in the Haddock house. Footsteps approaching made Toothless growl and get into a defensive position. "Whoa, easy, bud. It's just my dad." Hiccup calmed him down. "How's our wounded warrior?" Stoick asked. "He's still a little on edge." Hiccup said, stroking his dragon's neck. "Don't worry, Toothless. I think we showed that dragon a thing or two about uninvited guests on Berk. I don't think he'll be coming back anytime soon. At least, I hope not." Stoick reassured, patting the Night Fury on the head and walking back downstairs.

"Yeah, me too." Hiccup said, hoping that was the case. Toothless breathed fire on his stone bed, curled up on it and fell asleep, or so Hiccup thought. The teen lay down in his bed, pulled the blanket over himself and fell asleep.

Toothless checked to make sure Hiccup was fast asleep then leapt out of the window and ran into the forest. But before he left, Toothless stopped, turned around and stared at Hiccup's house. _I'm doing this to keep you safe, my rider. And you too, Aniu._ He thought, throwing a look at Aniu's house. Then he turned tail and ran into the forest. As he ran, Toothless remembered the first time he had encountered the Whispering Death. Before he was captured and enslaved by the Red Death, he was just flying around when the Whispering Death had attacked him. Thinking the Whispering Death wanted to kill him for no reason at all, Toothless fought back. As the Whispering Death kept lashing out at him, roaring unintelligible words, Toothless grew angrier and angrier until he bit the enraged dragon very hardly on the side. The Whispering Death roared in pain and fled.

* * *

Early the next morning, Hiccup woke up and noticed the absence of his beloved Night Fury. "Toothless?" He called out and ran outside but the black dragon was nowhere to be seen. "Toothless?" He called out again. Aniu flew down and landed next to him. "What's wrong? I was about to go out for a morning flight when I heard call about. "Toothless went after the Whispering Death alone." Hiccup said gravely. Aniu gasped. "We need to get the others." She said urgently.

Pretty soon, the Dragon Trainers were gathered in the Academy. "Maybe Toothless just went out for a morning flight. Oh, that's right. He can't." Snotlout said. "Really, you're going there again? Now?" Astrid hissed, glaring at the brawny Jorgenson boy furiously. "Toothless must be looking for the Whispering Death. We find it, we find Toothless." Hiccup said. "Why do Toothless and the Whispering Death hate each other so much?" Nava wondered out loud.

"What do we do if we find the Whispering Death first?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "Well, we train him." Hiccup answered. "But first, we need to find out what the Whispering Death's intentions are." Aniu said seriously. "You do know he's got 'death' in his name, right?" Tuffnut asked. "Yeah, we do, Tuffnut." Nava said. "Fishlegs, is there anything about the Whispering Death in the Book of Dragons that can help us?" Hiccup asked.

"It can shoot razor-sharp spines from its body like a Deadly Nadder's tail." Fishlegs read, opening the book and finding the correct page. "And how's that going to help us?" Astrid questioned. "Well, it would help if we stayed away from those." Fishlegs said. "Or we could get near them and use Ruffnut as a human shield." Tuffnut suggested. Ruffnut violently kicked her twin brother in the knee. "Ow! My kneecap! That's new. I like it." Tuffnut yelped.

"This dragon must have a weakness." Hiccup said. "Actually, no. It says right here: 'no known weaknesses." Fishlegs read. "Ha. I really love this thing." Tuffnut said. "Okay, great. Can we go now, please?" Hiccup asked, wanting to find his dragon. "We don't know how much time we have." He mounted Stormfly and pulled Astrid up in front of him. "Don't worry, Hiccup. We'll find him." She assured her boyfriend. Stormfly ran out of the academy and took to the sky, followed by the other dragons, Aniu and Nava.

* * *

The Dragon Trainers flew over Berk's wilderness. "There. Down below." Hiccup said, pointing at two Whispering Death holes in the ground. Aniu, Nava and the dragons landed. "Toothless! Toothless!" Hiccup dismounted Stormfly and began calling down one of the holes. The other riders dismounted their dragons and approached the hole. "How do we even know the Whispering Death made these holes?" Snotlout asked.

"So you think it might be the other 2 500 pound, rock-eating dragon we're following?" Astrid asked. _"Were you talking about me?"_ Meatlug asked. "No, Meatlug. They weren't talking about you, I think." Nava said. "I know what you're...don't try to confuse me." Snotlout stammered in response to Astrid's question.

"Look at this. He must've lost a tooth." Hiccup murmured, picking up a fang off the ground. "Is it sharp? If it is, I want it. I like sharp." Tuffnut asked eagerly. "Yeah, sharp is good." Ruffnut agreed. "Think about this. Hundreds of those spinning together, ripping through dirt and earth, discarding rocks like it's not even there." Fishlegs said.

Just then, the dragons began to get antsy. "Stormfly, what's wrong?" Astrid asked her Deadly Nadder in concern. "What's wrong with you?" Tuffnut questioned his half of the Hideous Zippleback. "Barf, settle down." Ruffnut told her half of the Hideous Zippleback. "Stop, listen!" Aniu exclaimed. She and Nava were hearing rumbling sounds coming from the earth beneath their feet. Trusting their guardian friend's instincts, Hiccup and Astrid began listening.

"Listen for what?" Tuffnut asked loudly. "I don't hear anything. What are we listening for?" Ruffnut asked loudly. "Be quiet." Astrid hissed at the twins. "How are we supposed to hear anything over her yelling?" Tuffnut asked. "Shut up and be quiet." Nava hissed at them. The rumbling sound had grown louder. "The whisper." Fishlegs whispered. "Looks like we beat Toothless." Snotlout whispered.

"Yeah, we win." Astrid muttered. Then, the Whispering Death burst out of the ground. "I'm not feeling like a winner." Fishlegs whimpered. The Boulder Class baddie stared at Fishlegs then glanced at the other dragons, who all snarled at it. The Whispering Death dove into the ground again. "I hate it when he does that. Can you at least tell my why he does that?" Snotlout growled.

The Whispering Death approached them again. "Maybe to hunt. Maybe because it's cooler. Maybe to look for water. (The Whispering Death got even closer) Maybe because he can't stand the pressure of everybody always expecting him to have the answers all the damn time!" Fishlegs screamed the last sentence, cracking under the pressure.

"He's losing it." Tuffnut sang to his sister. "I know. It's awesome." Ruffnut agreed. The Whispering Death surfaced just behind Fishlegs, causing the Ingerman boy to scream and run to Meatlug. "Someone hold it still. I want to touch it." Tuffnut exclaimed, eagerly approaching the Boulder Class dragon but Ruffnut held him back, knowing what could happen if her brother attempted to touch the snake-like dragon.

"Do you actually have a plan or are you just trying to get yourself killed?" Astrid asked when Hiccup stepped toward the Whispering Death. "If I can train it, then it'll leave Toothless alone." Hiccup theorised. "Right. So, you are trying to get yourself killed." Snotlout said. The Whispering Death nearly ran Hiccup over (causing the others to gasp) but stopped just in time. The dragon stared at the young human boy just in front of him with a hand outstretched. Aniu slowly and carefully walked forward until she was standing beside Hiccup. "What's your name?" She asked the snake-like dragon softly. _"Razor."_ The Whispering Death told her, deciding to give the guardian that little piece of information.

Razor realized the human boy and the guardian girl had the Night Fury's scent on them and slithered away. "Okay." Hiccup breathed out when the Whispering Death created another tunnel and vanished into it. "Um, I know what you're thinking and the answer is no." Astrid said, trying to dissuade her boyfriend from what he was about to do.

But Hiccup did it anyway and jumped into the tunnel, landing on his feet. "You know what they say, best friends stick together." Aniu said and jumped into the tunnel as well. "Why do they always do that?" Astrid asked. "Oh, man. I am so glad I'm not down there with them right now." Fishlegs said. Snotlout decided to have a little fun and...pushed Fishlegs into the hole. "Oops." Snotlout said innocently when Astrid and Nava glared at him.

"Ah, thanks, Fishlegs. I kinda figured you'd be the last one to volunteer." Hiccup said. "Are you okay, Fishlegs?" Aniu asked, helping the Ingerman boy to his feet. "Yeah, I didn't want you to have to face that dragon all alone." Fishlegs said. A distant growl was heard and the three tensed up. "This thing's been busy." Hiccup muttered, seeing the multitude of tunnels branching off in every direction. "No kidding." Aniu muttered.

"Quick question: Why are we down here again?" Fishlegs asked. "This is where it spends all of its time. There's got to be something down here that can help us." Hiccup told him. Aniu saw the Whispering Death speed down a tunnel. "There it goes. Let's follow it." She whispered. Hiccup and Aniu moved forward but Fishlegs didn't move. "Oh, were you talking to me?" He asked when they gave him questioning looks.

"Fishlegs, new dragon. You love this stuff." Hiccup said. "I hate that about me." Fishlegs grumbled, following his two friends. "I hope we don't get lost." Aniu said. "That just makes me feel so much better." Fishlegs said sarcastically. The three teens walked through the tunnels, noticing all the tree roots sticking out of the ceiling. Then, they noticed a pair of eyes in the shadows of a tunnel. Hiccup, Aniu and Fishlegs tensed up and the owner of the eyes hopped out of the tunnel. "It's just a sheep. Whoa, that gave me a fright." Aniu said as the sheep ran away.

The three teens went on their way again and Razor the Whispering Death slithered in front of them. Hiccup, Aniu and Fishlegs hid in a tunnel and waited for Razor to slither past. "Aniu, did the Whispering Death say what his name was?" Hiccup asked in a low voice. "He said his name was Razor and that was all he told me." Aniu whispered. "Hiccup, Aniu! Did you see?" Fishlegs asked, accidently raising his voice. Razor spun around and hissed, but couldn't find them.

Hiccup and Aniu both placed a hand over Fishlegs's mouth. "Can it wait?" They whispered. The Whispering Death slithered past them. "Let's just hope it keeps going." Aniu whispered. Razor suddenly stopped and Fishlegs saw a circular scar on the Whispering Death's hide. Razor left, allowing Hiccup, Aniu and Fishlegs to talk. "Did you see that?" Fishlegs whisper-asked. "Was that a bite mark?" Hiccup whisper-asked. "Not just any bite mark. That's a Night Fury bite mark." Aniu whispered.

"I think I know why these two are looking for each other." Fishlegs said. "They have a history." Hiccup realized. "A grudge and a bad one." Aniu said. "If that's true then how long do dragons carry a grudge?" Hiccup asked. Fishlegs thought it out and said "To the death." Hiccup's eyes widened in horror. "There were two dragons who had a grudge on each other back on Guardian Island. One of them stole the other's fish and the other one grew angry and stole his fish. They started fighting and Wingston, the leader of the guardian village, broke the fight up and made them apologize to each other. The dragons were still mad at each other but they got over it after a few weeks. So, I don't think all grudges between dragons are to the death but I dare say that this grudge between Toothless and Razor the Whispering Death is to the death." Aniu recounted.

"Let's get out of here before he comes back." Hiccup said. "That is really good idea." Fishlegs agreed. "Well then, let's go." Aniu said. The three teens ran down a tunnel only to come face to face with the Whispering Death. "Run!" Aniu yelled and she, Hiccup and Fishlegs ran for their lives.

The other dragon trainers were still waiting for their comrades. "They've been down there forever. Hiccup! Aniu! Fishlegs!" Astrid yelled down the hole. "Yeah, we're right here." Hiccup yelled, running into view with Aniu and Fishlegs. "Did you see the Whispering Death? Was it cool?" Tuffnut asked eagerly. "Did you touch it?" Ruffnut asked eagerly. "I want to touch it." Tuffnut snapped, elbowing his sister.

"Can we talk about this later? We really need to get out of this hole." Fishlegs said. A low rumble accompanied by a small whisper sounded from underground, catching everyone's attention. "Yeah, you do." Nava agreed. A louder rumble and a cloud of dirt signalled that the Whispering Death was getting nearer, very quickly. "Fishlegs, you go first." Hiccup and Aniu said. "No argument here." Fishlegs said and allowed Hiccup and Aniu to lift him up. Astrid and Nava pulled Fishlegs out of the hole. Aniu turned into her owl form and flew upwards.

"Hiccup, hurry!" Astrid yelled, reaching down into the hole to grab her boyfriend's outstretched hand. Hiccup tried to grab Astrid's hand but couldn't. "I can't reach." He grunted. The Whispering Death was very close when Hiccup finally managed to grab Astrid's hand but his hand slid out of hers.

Hiccup realized he wasn't going to get out of the hole in time and yelled for everyone to back away then Hiccup was sent flying into the air while screaming. "Hiccup!" Astrid and Aniu screamed in terror. "Wow, I bet he can see our houses from up there." Tuffnut remarked before Aniu hit him over the head with her wing. "Stormfly!" Astrid yelled when she saw the danger Hiccup was in as the Whispering Death prepared to grab Hiccup. The female, sky blue Deadly Nadder flew up and grabbed Hiccup seconds before Razor could eat him.

"Thanks, Astrid." Hiccup said when Stormfly put him down safely on the ground. Razor roared and glared at them. "I don't think it liked you in its tunnel." Tuffnut said to Hiccup. "Yeah, I got that." The brown haired teen said. "Can we get out of here, please?" Snotlout asked desperately. "No. I know I can train this thing." Hiccup said. "Anybody got some dragon nip?" Aniu asked. The other teens stuffed a whole bunch of dragon nip into her and Hiccup's hands.

"Okay." Aniu mumbled and walked forward with Hiccup to offer Razor the Whispering Death their dragon nip. "Don't be afraid. We're friends." She murmured, holding her dragon nip up. Razor growled at Aniu, obviously remembering her. "Here. You'll love this. All dragons love dragon nip." Hiccup said quietly. But instead of accepting the dragon nip, Razor sneezed, sending the dragon nip flying toward Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug and Barf-Belch. The dragons were intoxicated and fell into a dragon nip induced slumber.

"Apparently, not all dragons like dragon nip. We better write that down." Nava muttered. "Oh, great. Now we're defenceless." Snotlout snapped. The Whispering Death snarled at the conscious members of the group. "Any ideas? I'm throwing them wide open to the group." Hiccup said. "I got an idea. Run!" Snotlout shrieked. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran to their dragons with Hiccup, Aniu and Nava following them.

Razor hissed and chased the group but Toothless tackled him. "Toothless!" Astrid, Aniu and Nava cried out in relief. Toothless hung on tightly to Razor's spiky back as the Whispering Death bucked and tried to throw him off. _"Stay away from my friends, you monster!"_ Toothless roared, throwing Razor into a bunch of trees. The other dragons woke up and roared at Razor, ready to attack him.

The Whispering Death realized he was outnumbered and tunnelled into the ground. Hiccup and Aniu ran over to Toothless who growled at them before realizing they were his rider and guardian friend. "Hey, bud. It's us. We know you and that other dragon have a grudge on each other but if you could just tell us what happened between you and him then we'll find a way to end this." Hiccup said. "Please, Toothless. Just let us help you." Aniu pleaded. _"I'm sorry, but I can't."_ Toothless said and ran away.

"Toothless, come back!" Hiccup and Aniu yelled, chasing after the Night Fury but Toothless spun around and shot a plasma blast at the ground in front of them, stopping Hiccup and Aniu in their tracks. Their betrayed expressions made Toothless feel guilty but he ran away again. "Awkward." Tuffnut sang. Hiccup and Aniu glared at him.

* * *

The riders and guardians took to the skies to look for Toothless again. "So Toothless has an arch-enemy. Kind of like you and me." Snotlout said to Hiccup from Hookfang's neck. "Snotlout, you are not my arch-enemy." Hiccup said, riding behind Astrid on Stormfly's back. "Well, you and Aniu are my arch-enemies." Snotlout said, giving Hiccup the 'I'm-watching-you' look. Aniu and Nava rolled their eyes at Snotlout.

"He's just trying to protect you." Astrid told Hiccup, referring to Toothless. "That's not what it is. Toothless doesn't want you around because this is between him and the other dragon. He's a fighter like me, not whatever you are." Snotlout continued. "I never thought I'd say this Snotlout but I think you are right." Hiccup said.

"Wait, what? You guys heard that, right?" Snotlout asked in shock. "What I think Hiccup means is that Toothless is a fighter." Aniu said. "It's not a fair fight. If Toothless is going to win, he has to fly. And he can't fly without me." Hiccup said. "So, what are you saying?" Astrid asked. "I'm saying we need to find him and soon." Hiccup said. Aniu looked down at the ground and saw a familiar shape. "I see Toothless. He's down there, running through the trees!" she yelled, pointing.

Down below on the ground, Toothless found a Whispering Death hole. _"I'm here. Now let's finish this once and for all!"_ He roared. Razor heard and hissed, ready to settle the score. "There he is. Get me down there." Hiccup said to Astrid. Toothless heard his guardian and dragon friends land and the familiar squeaking of Hiccup's prosthetic foot as his rider approached him.

Toothless stared at Hiccup and let his rider put a hand on his head. "Hey, bud. You had me and Aniu so worried there for a while. You haven't been yourself lately. Good to see you are still you." Hiccup told his dragon. Aniu was about to say something to Toothless when Razor burst out of the ground near them. Toothless snarled at the Whispering Death. "You could just walk away from this, bud." Hiccup tried in vain to persuade Toothless.

"Let's just go home." Hiccup tried to mount Toothless only to be knocked away as the Night Fury charged at the Whispering Death. "You were so close!" Aniu exclaimed, helping Hiccup up. "I thought you had him." Nava said. Toothless tried to fly up and fire plasma blasts at Razor but the Whispering Death knocked him aside with his tail.

"He needs our help." Hiccup said, climbing onto Stormfly's back behind Astrid. The dragons, Aniu and Nava ran forward to help but Toothless roared at them to back off. "Come on, girl." Astrid said when Stormfly refused to move. "Hookfang won't budge." Snotlout grunted, tugging on his Monstrous Nightmare's horns. "I think ours is broken." Tuffnut said, referring to Barf-Belch. "They know this isn't their fight, guys." Fishlegs said.

Razor forced Toothless onto the edge of a cliff and burrowed through the earth. Toothless was now trapped and the Whispering Death continuously spat fire at him, it was only a matter of time before Toothless was knocked off the cliff edge and sent plummeting to his death. "He's going to knock Toothless into the canyon!" Hiccup yelled at his friends.

"Toothless, you have to choose: Hiccup or the Whispering Death!" Aniu yelled. At the moment Hiccup and Toothless glanced at each other, Hiccup got an idea. He stood on the very edge of the cliff he and his friends were on and….fell off.

"HICCUP!" Astrid, Aniu, Nava, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut screamed. _"Hiccup!"_ Toothless roared and as Razor shot out another blast of fire, jumped after his rider. Hiccup saw his Night Fury falling after him and smiled. Toothless caught his rider and Hiccup mounted him. Once Hiccup put his prosthetic foot into the stirrup, Toothless shot up into the sky.

Astrid, Aniu, Nava and the other Dragon Trainers let out relieved exclamations and cheers. "You save me, I save you. That's the way it is and always will be." Hiccup told Toothless who growled in agreement as Aniu turned into their dragon form and joined them. They dodged some spines from the Whispering Death and a ray of sunlight shone through the clouds.

Razor hissed and tunnelled into the ground. "The sunlight. That's his weakness." Fishlegs realized. "Whispering Deaths hate sunlight." Nava realized. "Okay, you two. Let's keep him above ground." Hiccup said to Aniu and Toothless. "Now that's a plan." Aniu exclaimed. She and Toothless dove down and shot plasma blasts down the Whispering Death holes. The flames surged through the tunnels and exploded through the holes.

"This. Is. Amazing." Ruffnut breathed out, admiring the spectacle. "We have got to find you an arch-nemesis." Tuffnut told Barf-Belch. _"No thanks."_ The green and red Hideous Zippleback said. Razor was thrown out of his tunnels and landed on the ground. Before he could get up again, Toothless pinned him down.

 _"_ _There's something I want to know: why did you constantly attack me?"_ Toothless asked. Razor took a deep breath. _"_ _I'll tell you why: because I thought you were the one responsible for destroying my eggs."_ The Whispering Death said. _"_ _I would never do such a thing! It had to be some other dragon who looked like me."_ Toothless gasped in shock. _"_ _Killing another dragons eggs is one of the worst crimes in the dragon world. It is punishable by death unless it was proven to be an accident."_ Stormfly said.

 _"_ _The Deadly Nadder is right. I will tell you what happened."_ Razor said.

 _(Flashback starts)_

Razor and his mate had been out fishing and were on their way back to their den when they saw a Night Fury walking around their cave entrance. _"Hey! What are you doing?"_ Razor yelled. Startled, the Night Fury scampered away. They began to get a bad feeling but dismissed it as nothing. The two Whispering Deaths dropped the fish on the cave floor and Razor went to get some more fish while his mate checked on their eggs.

Just then, Razor heard his mate scream. _"Our eggs! Our eggs_!" Quickly, he turned around and slithered over to his mate. He saw their three precious eggs crushed and broken. _"_ _NOOOOO!_ " He roared in anguish. _"_ _I'LL KILL THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!"_ Then he remembered the Night Fury flying away from them only minutes ago. There was only one known Night Fury in the surrounding parts of the Archipelago. With fury and grief pumping through his veins, the Whispering Death swore revenge on the Night Fury.

 _(Flashback ends)_

 _"_ _What did the Night Fury who crushed your eggs look like?"_ Toothless asked. _"_ _Well, he had black scales and, oh, I remember now, red eyes."_ Razor told him. Toothless racked his brain, trying to remember something. "What's wrong, Toothless?" Aniu asked. _"_ _He seems familiar but I just can't remember him."_ Toothless growled in frustration.

"You told me that you couldn't remember anything from your life before you were enslaved by the Red Death." Aniu said. Behind her, Nava was translating what the dragons were saying to the riders. _"Well, that is one of the few things I can remember. I have no idea why I was flying around those islands, maybe I was looking for something. And the Red Death took most of my memories of my early life to make me a better slave and decrease the chances of me trying to escape."_ Toothless said then got off the Whispering Death.

 _"_ _I believe we owe each other an apology. I am so sorry."_ Razor said. _"_ _I am sorry, too. I apologize for giving you that scar."_ Toothless said. Then the Whispering Death and Night Fury bowed deeply to each other, a sign of forgiveness and apology amongst dragons. When Razor and Toothless stopped bowing, Razor said farewell and slithered down a tunnel. "Aw, man. Toothless could've finished him off." Snotlout whined. "Snotlout, didn't you listen to me and Aniu when we said what the reason for the Whispering Death attacking Toothless was?" Nava asked, annoyed.

"Well, I guess that not all dragon grudges are to the death, depending on the reason." Hiccup said. "I guess I'll have to write that down in the Book of Dragons." Fishlegs said, flying away on Meatlug. "Hey, what do you say we go home?" Hiccup asked. _"Let's go home."_ Toothless said happily and flew into the sky, followed by the others.

* * *

 **"** **When our past rears its ugly head, it usually doesn't have six rows of sharp teeth and a bad attitude."**

Later on that day, Aniu (in her dragon form) Hiccup and Toothless flew around the island, searching for another Whispering Death hole to plug up with a boulder.

 **"** **But if it does, you're gonna need a great friend or two who has your back. Aniu and I will always have Toothless's back, as a matter of fact, all three of us will always have each other's backs. And when you're trying to find out the truth about something, sometimes you will be surprised at what you find out because it could be something you are completely not expecting."**

* * *

On an island a far distance from Berk, a female Night Fury with black scales and chocolate brown eyes stood staring up at the stars. She was joined by a slightly smaller female Night Fury with black scales and sky blue eyes. _"Are you okay, Raven?"_ The second Night Fury asked quietly. _"_ _I don't know, Plasma. I miss Toothless so much."_ Raven said, thinking of the male Night Fury she had a crush on and had grown up with. _"_ _I miss my brother too. But we have to have faith and hope that he'll come back to us one day."_ Plasma said before leaving. Raven watched her go and saw a shooting star streak across the sky. She closed her eyes and silently wished that Toothless would come back to them one day.

* * *

 **The summer heat is making my mind slow and lazy, preventing me from writing my very best so updates may take longer than usual.**

 **I was going to publish this chapter before Christmas but a new surprise expansion pack came onto School of dragons and I wanted to do all the quests, so I did. It's called Battle for the Edge and you can go to Dragon's Edge and some other new islands. The expansion pack is inspired by the next thirteen episodes of Dragons: Race to the Edge and a new dragon which will appear in the upcoming episodes called the ARMORWING. You must deal with Dragon Hunters attacking Dragon's Edge and all the other lands surrounding it and you'll meet a new character named Harald Forkbeard. A bonus feature is that when you finish the quests, you'll get your hut on Dragon's Edge and have the ability to decorate it.**

 **The Night Fury with red eyes who crushed Razor's eggs, Raven and Plasma will appear in a future story set after Dragons and Defenders of Berk.**

 **I hope everyone had a good Christmas and Happy New Year.**

 **Updated: 28.12.2015**


	15. Twinsanity

_"Dragon's speaking"_

 _'telepathical speaking'_

 _Thinking_

 **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly with their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf-Belch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **Please read and Review!**

 **This chapter marks the first appearance of Dagur the Deranged and he'll be causing a lot of trouble for the good guys in future stories and chapters.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Twinsanity**

 **"** **They say two heads are better than one, which is often true. But four heads? Eh, that's a few too many heads."**

Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston were riding on Barf-Belch as the Hideous Zippleback flew through the cloudy sky. "How are we supposed to see up here?" Ruffnut asked loudly. "You're not. That's the point." Hiccup said, flying towards them on Toothless. "Oh, I still don't get it." Tuffnut said stupidly. "When you two can't see, you have to trust Barf-Belch to see for you." Aniu said.

"Like this." Hiccup said. Toothless flew into a patch of thick clouds to demonstrate. "Why does he always have to speak in riddles?' Tuffnut asked angrily. "He's not speaking in riddles. The instructions are simple. You have to let Barf-Belch do the navigating for you when you can't see." Aniu explained.

"I say we trust us." Ruffnut said. "Yeah, I'm with you sister. Belch, up." Tuffnut ordered at the same time his sister gave her order. Barf-Belch tried to follow both orders at once but lost control and accidently crashed into Meatlug. Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs fell from their dragons and landed on the branches of a dead tree which began cracking.

Seeing the trouble they were in, Ruffnut and Tuffnut called for their dragon but gave opposite commands with Tuffnut telling Belch to get him down and Ruffnut telling Barf to go for help but that only resulted in Barf-Belch spiralling out of control again. Fishlegs came up with a solution and whistled, alerting Meatlug. Her rider pointed at the twins and moved his finger upwards in a looping motion.

Meatlug understood the command and flew down to Ruffnut and Tuffnut, grabbing them and flying up just as the tree branch broke off. Hiccup and Aniu watched this with amazement. "It worked, I can't believe it worked!" Fishlegs exclaimed happily just before his tree branch broke.

Fortunately, Toothless caught the Gronckle rider on his back. "What was that hand thing you were doing?" Hiccup asked. "If you must know, I have been crafting some rudimentary hand signals for Meatlug just in case we get separated and they seem to have been well received." Fishlegs said, gesturing to Meatlug who was carrying the twins back to their two-headed dragon.

"Hand signals! That's incredible, Fishlegs. We need to start working on those right away." Aniu exclaimed, listening to the two boy's conversation.

* * *

In the Academy, the dragon trainers were raring to try them out. Their dragon's mates and hatchlings were there too. Thornado and Sonica had come to see what they were up to and decided to join. "Toothless, battle ready." Hiccup commanded. Toothless snarled, crouched down and flared his wings out in an attack position. "Toothless, plasma blast." Hiccup ordered and the shield he was holding up into the air. Toothless plasma blasted it and the shield was destroyed. "Good job, bud. Smile." Hiccup said. Toothless didn't seem to think this one was necessary but did it anyway.

"Not bad." Astrid praised her boyfriend "Stormfly, Arrow, spine shot!" Both Deadly Nadders launched an onslaught of tailspines, forming a circle of tailspines around Astrid. "Well, that's better than last time. Skyflier, Forestflier, Voilet, spine shot!" The three young Deadly Nadders copied their parents and shot tail spines from their tails. "Well done, you three have been improving." Astrid smiled.

"Okay, Sonica, tail whip." Aniu ordered. The purple female Thunderdrum whipped out her tail, sending a training dummy flying across the arena. "Okay, what about this. Thornado, sonic blast." Nava ordered and covered his pointed ears. The male blue Thunderdrum let out a sonic blast, sending another training dummy flying across the arena. "I'm glad I wasn't on the receiving end of that one." Nava sighed in relief, uncovering his ears.

"Hahahaha, Hookfang, annihilate!" Snotlout laughed arrogantly. Hookfang smirked and sent his rider flying into a wooden wall with a fire blast. _"Okay, children. Watch me very closely."_ Firesnow said before setting herself on fire and shooting fire at a wall. Ignitis and Infernia copied their mother by setting themselves on fire and shooting at the wall.

"Meatlug, hug." Fishlegs said, wrapping his arms around himself. Meatlug flew at her rider and tackled him to the ground in an aggressive bear hug. Clobbertail was showing Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie how to eat boulders then shoot them out in the form of red-hot lava. "All of these things can be useful. Ruff, Tuff, your turn." Hiccup said.

"Barf, go."/ "Belch, come." Ruffut and Tuffnut gave their orders at the same time. Lefa-Rila and Boomer-Banger watched as Barf-Belch tried to follow both commands at the same time but failed. The Thorston twins glared at each other and gave their Hideous Zippleback another order. "Barf, sky."/ "Belch, ground." The poor Fear Class dragon couldn't obey that order either.

"Ha, I win!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing with my dragon?" Ruffnut asked her brother angrily. "Your dragon? Golly, you've been breathing in Barf's gas again." Tuffnut retorted. "Yeah, so?" Ruffnut hissed. "Guys, Barf-Belch is one dragon. You have to use one signal at a time." Aniu said. "Good idea. Barf, attack Tuffnut." Ruffnut agreed. Barf headbutted Tuffnut and sent him flying into Snotlout, knocking the Jorgenson boy over.

"How's that?" Ruffnut snickered. "Belch, eat Ruffnut." Tuffnut commanded with a grin. Belch grabbed Ruffnut's head. "Ow." The Thorston girl complained. "Tuff, come on." Hiccup sighed. "Whatever. Belch, drop Ruffnut." Tuffnut ordered. Belch obliged and dropped Ruffnut. "Ugh, I can't work like this." Ruffnut shuddered, wiping off dragon saliva.

"Oh, it's completely unprofessional." Tuffnut agreed. "I'm taking my dragon and going home." Ruffnut hissed. "You touch that dragon and I..." Tuffnut trailed off, running out of ideas for threats. "You'll what?" Ruffnut asked angrily.

"I...I don't know. I'll tell you tomorrow." Tuffnut said before he and his sister tried to pull their half of their Zippleback in different directions. "Uh, come on, Barf." Ruffnut grunted, pulling Barf by his nasal horn. "Come on, guys. Stop, please." Hiccup said. "Leave the dragon out of this, it's over." Aniu said.

"Oh, it's over alright." Ruffnut declared. "Yeah, it's so over it's under." Tuffnut growled. The Thorston twins stalked in opposite directions and poor Barf-Belch couldn't decide which twin to go with so his heads began to argue with each other. "What was that about?" Astrid asked. "Eh, they'll be back." Hiccup said. The twins always fought and argued, but hardly ever separated because of it, so why should now be any different?

* * *

After the lessons were finished, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless went back to the Haddock house. The first thing they saw when they went inside was Gobber trying to fit a tight-fitting, decorated belt around Stoick's waist. Fengo and Namara were mending some of Stoick's clothes. "Suck in your gut, Stoick." Gobber said. "It doesn't suck in much more than this, Gobber." Stoick gasped out.

"It'll help if you lost some weight, Stoick." Namara chided as she mended a pair of Stoick's trousers. "Then you will have less trouble fitting into that belt." Fengo said, stitching a hole in one of Stoick's tunics. "Ah, the ceremonial belt. Is it that time again?" Hiccup questioned, going inside. "Yep. Tomorrow's the annual treaty signing with the Berserker Tribe." Stoick said. "I heard they were a bunch of blood-thirsty, barbarous brutes." Aniu said, shifting her wings.

"They got to change that name. When your chief's Oswald the Agreeable and you haven't been to war in fifty years." Gobber said. "Oh, please tell me he's not bringing that lunatic kid of his." Hiccup begged. "You barely ever talked about him and what makes him so bad?" Aniu asked, wondering why Hiccup disliked this 'lunatic kid' person so much. "I'll tell you more about him later and the subject never came up." Hiccup told her.

"Dagur? Oh, he'll be here." Gobber muttered. "Oh, great. And let me guess, Aniu and I have to stop him from breaking things." Hiccup groaned. "Actually, I have a more important job for you and Aniu. You two get to hide all the dragons." Stoick said. "From Oswald the Agreeable? Why?" Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup, just because we had peace for fifty years doesn't mean they still can't go, well, berserk. The dragons could be seen as a sign of aggression. They know we have guardians among us. Better blissful than bloody, I always say." Stoick said. "And the last thing we want is another Berserk skirmish. They tend to play for keeps." Gobber added. "Just hide the dragons, please." Stoick told Hiccup and Aniu before grunting as Gobber pulled the belt tighter.

* * *

The next morning, three Terrible Terrors walked through the forest. A green plasma blast exploded in behind them and the three, little Stoker Class dragons shrieked and flew up to join the flock of Berkian dragons being herded to a safe place. "Back in line! Back in line! Everyone, in line." Snotlout yelled at a bunch of Monstrous Nightmares he was in charge of. Astrid was in charge of the Deadly Nadders. Fishlegs in charge of the Gronckles. Ruffnut and Tuffnut had not shown up so Nava was in charge of the Hideous Zipplebacks. Aniu was in charge of the Terrible Terrors. Thornado and Sonica helped the dragon trainers out while Hiccup and Toothless made sure the mission was going smoothly.

Skyflier, Forestflier, Violet, Ignitis, Infernia, Boomer-Banger, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie had learned how to fly recently and flew whenever they could. Their parents had decided they were strong enough to fly the short distance to safe place and let them rest on their backs one at a time whenever they got tired.

"Is Dagur coming? He's so cool." Snotlout asked eagerly. "Cool? Last time he was here, he used me as a knife throwing target and on another one of his visits, he tried to drown me." Hiccup said. "He what?" Aniu and Nava asked in disbelief and anger. _"I hate him already."_ Toothless snarled. "Toothless just said he hates Dagur already." Aniu said. "Trust me. There's barely anyone who likes Dagur after they see what he's like." Hiccup told her.

"That guy should be locked up in a cage." Astrid said. "That's what he did to me. He wouldn't let me eat for three days." Fishlegs recounted. "Then he force-fed you rotten codfish heads." Snotlout laughed. "Thanks. I almost erased that from my memory." Fishlegs shuddered. "Look out, incoming Zippleback!" Nava yelled at them.

A very familiar green and red Zippleback flew past them in the direction of Berk and everyone recognized it as Barf-Belch. "Where's Ruffnut and Tuffnut? Someone get that Zippleback." Hiccup ordered. "I'm on it." Snotlout said. Hookfang flew after the two-headed dragon and Snotlout dropped onto Belch's neck.

"Snotlout looks like he needs help. Fishlegs, get on Barf." Aniu commanded. "I'm not really sure this is the best idea...whoa!" Fishlegs protested but Barf hit Meatlug in the side with his head and Fishlegs fell off and landed on his neck. Fishlegs held onto Barf's horns, causing the Zippleback head to breath out gas. "I don't feel so good." Fishlegs mumbled, feeling sick.

"It's the gas. Just try not to breathe any of it in." Hiccup said. "Yeah, that ship has sailed." Fishlegs groaned. "Whoa, hey! Somebody tell me how to work this thing!" Snotlout yelled, trying to climb up Belch's neck to reach his horns. "Whatever you do, Snotlout. Don't spark." Aniu said. But Snotlout had grabbed Belch's horns and pulled. Belch instinctively spat out sparks which ignited Barf's gas, causing an explosion that sent Fishlegs and Snotlout flying off Barf-Belch. Luckily, both boys landed on Hookfang.

"Okay, now I feel worse." Fishlegs gulped. "Then if I were you, I would not think about that rotten codfish head sliding down your throat." Snotlout said carelessly. Fishlegs's face turned green, he let out a small burp and vomited. "Oh, that is disgusting." Snotlout groaned, feeling sick himself. "Then you shouldn't have told Fishlegs about that memory." Aniu said.

Hiccup watched Barf-Belch fly away and glanced at Astrid. "Wait here. I need to find the twins to get that Zippleback under control before the Berserkers..." He said before a horn blew. "...are here." Astrid finished his sentence. "Great. Just great." Hiccup muttered. Quickly, Stormfly, Hookfang and Meatlug said goodbye to their families and flew back to Berk where they would hide in their rider's houses.

On the way back, Hiccup thought about something. What would Dagur do when he found out about Aniu, Nava, Fengo and Namara? He knew Dagur had an obsession with violence and weapons so would he see Aniu and her fellow guardians as weapons of war or not? With those troubling thoughts in his mind, Hiccup followed his friends back to Berk on Toothless.

* * *

Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara waited on the docks as a big fleet of ships approached. All of them had a dragon with large wings, spiked back and long tail, a crown of spikes on the back of its head and two legs. The dragon had a bolt of lightning shooting out of its mouth.

Hiccup, Aniu and Nava ran up to them. "Hey, Dad. There's something you need to know." Hiccup said. "Not now, Hiccup. The Berserkers are here." Stoick interrupted him. The fist ship docked, a gangplank was lowered and a Berserker stepped up. "Presenting the high chief of the Berserker Tribe, cracker of skulls, slayer of beasts, the great and fearsome..." The Berserker herald announced. "Oswald the Agreeable?" Gobber asked, confused. The herald glared at the Berkian blacksmith and said "...Dagur the Deranged!" before stepping aside to reveal...

A man in his late teens with dark green eyes, blood red hair and an arrogant and bored look on his face that seemed to suggest he didn't care about the world or anyone around him. He wore traditional Berserker armour and clothing that showed his chiefly status. "Dagur?" Stoick asked in shock. "Deranged?" Gobber asked, unable to believe that this kid was the new chief of the Berserker Tribe. "Oh no." Hiccup groaned.

Just for fun, Dagur threw a dagger (no pun intended) at Hiccup's head. Fortunately, thanks to his increased reflexes from constant flights on Toothless, Hiccup ducked and the dagger stuck in the wooden pole behind him. Dagur frowned at this and stepped down the gangplank. "Dagur, where is your father?" Stoick asked. "My father has been 'retired'. He lost his taste for blood. I, on the other hand, am starving." Dagur sang the last word. Aniu frowned. The way Dagur said 'retired' didn't sit right with her.

"So, where are you hiding them, Stoick?" Dagur asked. "Hiding what, Dagur?" Stoick asked. "Do I look stupid to you?" Dagur asked angrily. "Trick question. Don't answer it." Gobber whisper-hissed in Stoick's ear. "We both know what's going on here. I have it on excellent authority that you are amassing an army of dragons." Dagur continued.

"Excellent authority? And who would that be, Dagur?" Stoick asked. "Never mind. Just know that if I find it to be true, then my armada will attack with the force of 50 000 brave, Berserker soldiers." Dagur said, looking excited at the thought of bloodshed and violence. His men grunted in agreement. "Stand down, Dagur. There won't be any need for the armada. Now, let's get to the treaty." Stoick said formally.

"Yes, let's. Now, according to the treaty: my visit starts with a tour of Berk, the armoury, the feast in the Great Hall, the killing arena. You do still kill dragons here, don't you?" Dagur asked gleefully. "Your father never found the tour necessary." Stoick said. "As you can see, I'm not my father, am I?" Dagur asked, smirking. Stoick glared at him and reached for his sword. "Not in front of the armada." Gobber whispered, stopping his friend from doing something he would most likely regret.

Then Dagur noticed Aniu, Nava, Fengo and Namara. "And who are these...people?" He asked, seeing their wings and pointed ears. "These two are Fengo and Namara, their daughter Aniu and their family friend Nava. They are guardians." Stoick said.

"I can see that." Dagur muttered and saw Aniu standing beside Hiccup. "And what exactly are you and your fellow guardians doing here on this place?" He asked her. "We came here to help the people of Berk with their dragon problem and drove the dragons away. We taught Berk the values of knowledge, peace, unity and friendship. Berk has become stronger because of it." Aniu said. Dagur let out a deranged laugh. "Peace, knowledge, unity, friendship? That's the stupidest thing I heard in a long time. What good are those when you don't have the weapons and power to back it up? See my men? They have waited years to taste true blood! I bet you can't even fight!" He exclaimed.

"Be that as it may be, I am willing to give you a demonstration in the arena." Aniu said, refusing to back down or be intimidated. "Maybe we should, with weapons, blood and pain galore!" Dagur agreed. "Okay, this guy is really crazy." Nava whispered. "He is also bloodthirsty." Fengo agreed. "And violent." Namara added.

* * *

As soon as the opportunity arose, Hiccup, Aniu and Nava high-tailed it out of there. "Oh, this is bad, this is bad. We have to find that Zippleback." Hiccup muttered. "And we have no idea where Barf-Belch is." Aniu groaned. "And we have a crazy, bloodthirsty lunatic who loves to kill dragons visiting Berk." Nava sighed.

The three friends went between two houses and nearly ran into Astrid. "Guys, we have a problem." The blue-eyed, blonde-haired Hofferson shield maiden said. "Oh, yeah, you're telling us?" Aniu asked. "Dagur's the new Berserker chief." Hiccup said. "What?" Astrid asked in shock. "Yeah, his father supposedly 'retired'." Nava said, emphasizing the word 'retired'.

"And he thinks we are hiding dragons." Aniu said. "Well, we kind of are which brings us to our next problem." Astrid said, pointing at a fresh set of Zippleback tracks under their feet. "Huh? Barf-Belch? Here?" Hiccup asked. "And he's over there." Aniu said, pointing at the Zippleback who was eating some fish from a basket.

And to make things worse, Dagur and his entourage were heading their way. Thinking quickly, Hiccup and Astrid ran over, grabbed the basket of fish and Aniu and Nava herded Barf-Belch away. "And we're walking, walking, walking. Here, we have our food storage. It's where we..." Gobber said. "Ooh, let me guess: store your food." Dagur said, sounding bored and walking away.

"No wonder they made him chief." Gobber muttered, disliking the lad's arrogance. "Another thing to dislike about Dagur." Fengo muttered. "Barf-Belch, come back here." Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava hissed as they chased the Hideous Zippleback past the Food Storage building. "Booooring. I want to see the dragon-killing things." Dagur complained, sounding like a spoilt brat.

"Follow me." Stoick grumbled, having just about enough with the deranged Berserker chief. Meanwhile, Barf-Belch had outran his chasers. "Where did he go?" Astrid asked desperately. "I have no idea." Nava said. "You guys keep looking. Aniu and I will go warn our parents." Hiccup said before he and Aniu ran off.

* * *

In the Armoury, Dagur was having a lot of fun swinging weapons around, pretending to kill dragons. "You want some of this, Gronckle? How 'bout you, Nadder? That's right, plead for your pathetic dragon lives!" Dagur exclaimed, throwing a sword at a shield. "He's really got a handle on that whole deranged thing." Gobber muttered.

"I'm about to make him eat this sword." Stoick hissed, pulling the sword out of the shield. "Why don't we see to signing that treaty now?" Gobber asked, stopping his friend before anything bad could happen. "Sounds like my father. 'Sign the treaty, Dagur.'. 'Leave that chicken alone, Dagur.'. 'Ooh, put down that axe, Dagur.'." Dagur complained.

"Your father is a great man and I'll not have you disrespect him." Stoick reprimanded. "My father was a coward. I intend to return the Berserkers to their former glory, something he was incapable of doing." Dagur growled defiantly. Stoick glared at him and saw a two headed dragon run past the Armoury with Hiccup and his friends chasing after it.

"Zippleback." He said before he could stop himself. "I knew it! Where is it? Ohhh, let me kill it!" Dagur squealed excitedly. "Looks like he really loves and enjoys dragon-killing." Namara whispered anxiously in her husband's pointed ear. Fengo nodded in agreement. Gobber laughed and closed the doors before Dagur could get outside.

"He's joking, Dagur. That Stoick, always the prankster." The blacksmith chuckled. "Tell me, Dagur. What are some of your deranged plans for the Berserker Tribe?" Outside the Armoury, Hiccup, Aniu and Nava were still looking for the Hideous Zippleback. "Barf-Belch?" The three teens called quietly.

They turned around and saw Barf-Belch hanging down from the roof. "Guys, you can't be here." Hiccup hissed at them. "There's a madman here who loves killing dragons so you are in danger." Aniu whispered urgently. _"We're not leaving until we find our riders."_ Barf said. "If you don't leave, he'll kill you and mount your heads on his wall. What would Lefa-Rila and Boomer-Banger do if they find out their mate and father has been killed?" Nava asked quickly. _"_ _We're still not leaving without knowing where our riders are and if they're safe."_ Belch hissed.

Then, they heard Dagur's voice. "Nice weapons, very clean, no bloodstains, pity." The Armoury doors opened and Dagur walked out. Luckily, Barf-Belch had pulled his heads up and vanished from sight. The young Berserker chief saw Hiccup, Aniu and Nava standing in front of him, trying to look innocent and casual. "Ah, Hiccup. There you are. And your two guardian friends, Aniu and Nava, right?" Dagur asked.

"Dagur, we were just talking about you! Hey, remember that time when we went swimming and you tried to drown me?" Hiccup asked. "Yeah, shame that dragon shot that blue ball of fire at me. Bored again!" Dagur said, shoving Hiccup aside and walking past him, Aniu and Nava. Hiccup had a feeling that dragon was Toothless and made a mental note to give his Night Fury an extra basket full of delicious, fresh fish from the cove. He knew Toothless would be licking his lips at the thought of all those fish just for him. He spoiled his dragon sometimes.

"Just a moment. Something is going on here." Dagur said suspiciously. "I can explain." Hiccup nearly stammered. "Where is it?" Dagur asked. "It's just one dragon..." Hiccup stuttered. Aniu and Nava cast discreet glances up at the Armoury's roof. To their relief, Barf-Belch had left. "Your leg. Never mind, I heard all about it." Dagur said.

"Heard all about what?" Hiccup asked nervously. "You, the Red Death. Defeated it all on your own." Dagur continued. "Nava and I helped him along with the other teens." Aniu said quickly. "Me? Look at me. How could I have done that all by myself without help?" Hiccup asked, gesturing at himself. "Right? That's what I thought too. But then, I heard about trained dragons and it got me kind of tingly." Dagur said.

"Trained dragons? How would you even train a dragon?" Hiccup asked nervously. "I don't know. How would you?" Dagur asked, staring Hiccup in the face. "Is everything alright here?" Stoick asked, walking outside. "Everything's fine, I think." Nava said. "Anyway, Aniu. You promised me a demonstration of your powers in the Arena. How about we do it now?" Dagur asked hopefully.

"Okay, we'll do it now, then. In the arena." Aniu agreed, hoping Dagur didn't have any ulterior motives. The arena is this way." Stoick said, leading Dagur and his men to the arena. As they walked, Nava stepped up to his girlfriend. "Aniu, are you sure you know what you are doing?" He asked her anxiously. "Nava, I'm sure. I won't tell or show him all my powers. Just my nature magic and my animal forms except for my dragon form." Aniu assured him. Nava softly smiled and kissed Aniu on the cheek.

* * *

In the Dragon Training Academy, Aniu stood in the centre of the arena while Dagur, his Berserkers, her parents, Nava, Hiccup, Stoick and Gobber stood around the arena, watching her. "Well, we're waiting." Dagur snapped impatiently. Aniu took a deep breath and decided to start with her signature element: fire. Her glowed red and fireballs formed. Waving her hands around, Aniu manipulated the fire to fly around her in beautiful streams. Aniu even set her wings on fire with no harm done. Turning into her Barn Owl form, Aniu flew up and the fire curled into hoops which she flew through.

The flames vanished and Aniu chose wind as her next element after turning back into her human form. Gentle gusts of wind and air blew around the arena, blowing softly at the people watching her. Smiling, Aniu continued with her performance. She bended a ray of sunlight and made it spread in a circle around her. Forming a snowball in her hands, Aniu threw it into the air where it exploded and began snowing. Using water magic, Aniu made it lightly rain but no one got wet.

Aniu's hands glowed green and the stone floor of the arena erupted into large spikes of rock. Fresh grass spread along the area floor. Aniu turned into her wolf form and jumped up onto a rock spike before running in a circle around the academy. Aniu turned back into her human form and shot two bolts of lightning up at the sky. For the finale, shadows spread out from Aniu and darkened the arena. "That's it." Aniu said, folding her arms and letting the shadows dissipate.

Some Berserkers applauded but Dagur wanted something else. "Now that you have shown me what you can do with your magic, why don't you show us how well you can fight against someone like me without magic?" Dagur asked. "Fine." Aniu said. Dagur grinned and hopped down into the academy, holding an axe in his hand. "Be careful, Aniu." Hiccup, Nava, Fengo and Namara whispered nervously.

Dagur and Aniu circled each other and Aniu observed Dagur for any weaknesses she could use against him like she had been taught. Dagur didn't think to do the same thing and rushed at Aniu with his weapon raised. Aniu dodged and tripped Dagur up as he ran past her. Dagur got up, retrieved his weapon, growled and charged at Aniu again but she deflected and parried his attacks using moves she had learned throughout her life. The duel took a short while and after using a series of punches and kicks, Aniu finally knocked Dagur unconscious with a punch to the face.

The Berserkers stared in shock at Aniu's fighting skills. The guardian girl was much smaller than them and yet she had managed to defeat their chief by using her brains, speed, agility and smaller size against him. And Aniu had sure to vanish her wings before the duel started so she wouldn't have an unfair advantage. Dagur got up and ran at Aniu just as she was about to walk out of the arena, screaming a battle cry. Aniu spun around and her face gained a 'seriously?' look. She waited until the Berserker chief was close enough before jumping up, spinning around in mid-air and landing a roundhouse kick up Dagur's helmeted head. Dagur fell unconscious for real this time. "And the winner of the duel is Aniu!" Stoick announced.

The Berkians started cheering. Dagur woke up half-an hour later and knew he had lost the fight. _That's it. I really want that guardian girl and her fellow guardians as my weapons._ He thought darkly. Everyone went back to the village and Barf-Belch was still trying to find Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Toothless was with the Zippleback, trying to convince the dragon to get out of the village. Hiccup, Aniu and Nava separated from the others and ran over to the two dragons. "We need the twins." Hiccup said.

* * *

Later on, Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu, Nava and Toothless entered the Thorston House. "What are you guys doing here?" Tuffnut asked, swinging down and hanging upside down from a rafter. "Hey, Tuffnut. Feel like talking?" Hiccup asked. "Um, can you come down?" Astrid asked. "We want to talk to you face to face." Aniu said. "And we can't do that when you are hanging upside from a rafter." Nava said.

"Whatever." Tuffnut said before flipping himself off the rafter and landing on his feet. "Whoa, yeah. I love that part." He said, enjoying the adrenaline rush. "Look, about Barf-Belch. We need you and Ruffnut to help us get your dragon under control." Hiccup said, getting straight to the point. "No thank you. I am officially out of the dragon business. And the sister business. And the dragon and the sister business." Tuffnut protested. "What's going on with you two?" Astrid asked.

"Simple. You know what this is?" Tuffnut asked, holding up a spoon. "A spoon?" Hiccup asked. "No, it is our spoon, our dish our axe. And our well-groomed, stuffed yak. Everything is ours. I'm sick of ours. Just once, I want something to be mine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pack up my half of the yak." Tuffnut said, picking up a satchel.

"Go, where?" Aniu asked. "I don't know. To my dark, soggy, alone place. Not to cry. This house has too many memories." Tuffnut said solemnly, walking out of the house. "Tuff!" Nava called out. "'Dark, soggy, alone place'? Ugh." Astrid said. "Yeah, I really don't wanna know." Hiccup said.

* * *

That night in the Great Hall, it was time for the feast. "Did you get that Zippleback under control?" Stoick asked Hiccup and Aniu in a low whisper. "We're working on it." The two best friends whispered as Dagur stood up from his seat.

"A toast to death in battle." The Berserker chief proclaimed. "To your father." / "To Oswald." Everyone else proclaimed. "Fine, whatever. To Oswald, to Oswald, to Oswald. Blabbity, blabbity, blah!" Dagur sulked, sitting down and stabbing a knife into his cake with an angry pout on his face.

"Well, on that cheery note, shall we sign the treaty and send you on your way?" Gobber asked hopefully, unravelling the scroll. "Great idea! Let's sign that treaty. Bring us the dragon's blood!" Dagur exclaimed. "Uh, did you just say 'dragon's blood'?" Hiccup and Aniu asked nervously. "Yes, he did." Fengo and Namara sighed.

"Heh, heh. Don't be ridiculous, Dagur. Your father and I haven't signed a treaty in dragon's blood for years." Stoick chuckled. "Why would that be a problem, Stoick? Unless of course, you don't kill dragons anymore." Dagur asked. "We still kill dragons." Stoick protested. "The problem is we killed so many, there isn't a dragon within 200 miles of this place." Gobber played along. And at the worst time, Barf-Belch crashed through the doors, still looking for his riders.

"Except that one." Gobber said, dumbstruck. "The Zippleback! It's a sign! A head for each chief! It's gonna be amazing! Tonight, we hunt dragons!" Dagur laughed maniacally, leaping onto the table. "Yeah, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!" The Berserkers cheered. "You need to find that Zippleback before he does." Stoick hissed at Hiccup and Aniu. "Things just got a whole lot harder." Aniu sighed.

* * *

Early in the next morning, all the Dragon Trainers (except for the twins) grabbed their dragons and flew around the forest to search for Ruffnut and Tuffnut. "Hiccup, Aniu. You heard Tuffnut. He went to his dark, soggy, alone place. That could be anywhere." Astrid said. "Not really. That could only be place." Snotlout said. Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava stared at him. "What?" Snotlout asked. "Why didn't you say something?" Aniu asked in disbelief.

"Why didn't you ask?" Snotlout shot back. "Snotlout, we've been looking for them all morning." Astrid said, annoyed. "And?" Snotlout questioned. "And if you don't tell us right now, I'm going to throw you off that dragon!" Astrid exploded. "No need to get violent. He's probably at the Lost Cavern. They used to play Hide-and-go-kill there when they were kids." Snotlout said.

"Astrid, you, Snotlout and Nava take the south entrance. Fishlegs, Aniu and I will take the north." Hiccup said, flying away on Toothless, followed by Aniu, Fishlegs and Meatlug. "Let's go." Astrid exclaimed. Snotlout winked flirtatiously at her, causing Astrid to groan. "You do realize I'm still here, right? And Snotlout, stop flirting with Astrid. You know she doesn't like you." Nava said.

* * *

At the Lost Cavern's northern entrance, Toothless, Aniu and Meatlug landed and Hiccup and Fishlegs dismounted their dragons. "Alright, bud. Do your thing: search." Hiccup ordered, holding a flaming torch in his hand. Toothless grumbled but obeyed.

"Pretty dark in here. If you need to hold my hand, Astrid, it's okay." Snotlout said smoothly as he, Hookfang, Astrid, Stormfly and Nava entered the Caverns. "Sure, Snotlout." Astrid said smoothly. Snotlout grabbed what he thought was Astrid's hand and said "Ooh, soft as I thought I would be." Before realizing it was the end of Stormfly's tail he was holding. "Eww." The Jorgenson boy yelped, letting go.

Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless, Fishlegs and Meatlug were still searching through the Caverns when they saw... "Tuffnut?" Hiccup and Aniu asked. "Oh, you guys again. Would you quit following me?" Tuffnut asked angrily. "Ruffnut?" Astrid and Nava's voices asked. "Would you quit following me?" Ruffnut asked them angrily. "Did you guys hear that?" Aniu asked. "Duh. It's called an echo." Snotlout said, walking around the rock.

Then Ruffnut and Tuffnut saw each other. "Toothless, plasma blast." Hiccup ordered. The Night Fury shot a plasma blast at the ceiling, spreading light across the cavern. "What are you doing in my soggy place?" Tuffnut asked his sister angrily and standing up. "This is my soggy place and I'm not sharing it with you." Ruffnut told her brother furiously and standing up as well.

"Okay, listen, please. We need to get you guys to your dragon. It's important." Hiccup interrupted. "Barf-Belch is in real trouble." Astrid said. "You are the only ones who can save Barf-Belch." Aniu said. "We have to hurry before it is too late." Nava said. "I'll go but not with her." Tuffnut said, pointing at his sister. "I'm not going anywhere with her either." Ruffnut agreed. "Yeah! Wait, what?" Tuffnut asked dumbly.

"You don't understand. Both of you have to go." Hiccup said. Ruffnut and Tuffnut glanced at each other and looked away. "Guys, listen. Like it or not, you are connected to each other as twin siblings. And the two of you are connected to your dragon. Just like me with Toothless." Hiccup continued. "And me with Stormfly." Astrid added, giving Stormfly a hug. "Us too." Fishlegs put in, referring to Meatlug and himself.

"We can get you another spoon, another dish, another axe, another stuffed yak. What we can't get you is another Barf-Belch." Hiccup finished. Astrid stood beside her boyfriend and smiled at the twins. "Do you think they got any of that?" Hiccup asked her. Ruffnut and Tuffnut glanced at each other again."Fine." Tuffnut said and both Thorston twins spat in their palms and shook hands before gently headbutting each other.

"You know, I did spit a little more in my hand." Tuffnut said to Ruffnut. "They got it." Astrid told Hiccup with a smile. "Okay, let's go. We're on a time limit." Hiccup said. "Why is this so important anyway?" Tuffnut asked. "The Berserkers are hunting down your dragon to use his blood for ink to sign the treaty." Snotlout said casually. Everyone stared at Snotlout in shock and disbelief because of the lack of sensitivity. "What? Is that not what's happening?" Snotlout asked. "What?! Please tell me you're joking!" Ruffnut shrieked, grabbing Snotlout by the shoulders and shaking him.

"Unfortunately, Ruffnut, that is what's happening." Nava said. "Hiccup and I heard Dagur say it himself." Aniu said softly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Boomer-Banger had managed to escape from his mother and flew back to Berk to look for his father. _"I think Dad's this way."_ Boomer said, trying to go in one direction. _"_ _No, I think Dad's this way."_ Banger argued, trying to go in another direction. The two heads were so busy arguing that the young Zippleback didn't notice three Berserker soldiers approaching until one man yelled "I see a little Zippleback there!"

"Let's get it!" Another man yelled. Boomer-Banger took off running while the men chased them. _"We can lose them in the trees!"_ Boomer yelled. _"_ _Well, let's find a good tree to climb!"_ Banger agreed. The young green and blue Zippleback rounded a corner and leapt up into the branches of a large tree. _"_ _Don't make a sound or move a muscle."_ Boomer whispered to his brother-head. The men ran past the tree, unaware that the object of their pursuit was hiding in its branches. _"_ _That was close."_ Banger whispered once the men vanished.

Certain the danger had passed, Boomer-Banger lowered themselves to the ground. _"We need to find Dad while staying out of sight until these men leave the island."_ Boomer said. _"_ _Yeah, I'm with you, brother-head."_ Banger agreed.

* * *

The Dragon Trainers found Barf-Belch trying to find his riders in the forest. "There they are. We gotta get you and Ruffnut down there." Hiccup told Tuffnut, who was riding behind him on Toothless. But Berserkers ran out of the trees and captured Barf-Belch. "No!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut cried out. The dragons, Aniu and Nava landed in the trees. "What are we doing here? We have to get our dragon." Tuffnut whispered desperately.

"We can't afford to be spotted by the Berserkers." Aniu told him. Dagur approached Barf-Belch with a bloodthirsty, insane grin on his face, drew his sword and prepared to bring it down on the poor Zippleback's heads. But Stoick blocked his sword with his own sword. "How dare you?" Dagur asked, glaring at the Berkain chief.

"How dare you? We're supposed to slay this dragon together and that's what we'll do in the arena where dragon slaying is done." Stoick told him angrily. Dagur reluctantly sheathed his sword. "To the arena." He ordered. Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara exchanged worried looks and followed the Berserkers as they walked away, dragging Barf-Belch with them.

The Dragon Trainers waited until they were gone before landing on the ground. "The chief isn't going to let them kill our dragon, is he?" Ruffnut and Tuffnut asked desperately. "He won't have a choice unless we can figure out a plan." Nava said. "I have a plan. One word: Annihilate!" Snotlout commanded.

Hookfang blew a stream of over his rider's head. "Or not." Astrid said, smirking at Snotlout's stupidity. "Actually, that could work." Hiccup said.

* * *

"According to the treaty: the killing of the dragon must be..." Gobber read from a piece of paper but Dagur yawned and interrupted him. "I want the head on the right." The young Berserker drew his sword and advanced on Barf-Belch. "I'm putting a stop to this. If it means war, it means war." Stoick hissed, drawing his own sword and creeping up on Dagur. The Berserkers attention was fixated on their chief.

Dagur held his sword above Belch' head and grinned, savouring the soon-to-be-kill. Stoick was about to strike him down when Hiccup, Aniu, Astrid, Nava and the other Dragon Trainers ran into academy. "Help! Dragon attack!" Hiccup and Aniu screamed. Hookfang climbed down the chain holding up the ceiling of the arena and spat fire at the Berserkers.

"What is going on?" Gobber asked, confused. "Gobber, dragon attack." Feno told him. "Oh, dragon attack. Everyone, out of here!" Gobber understood. Stormfly and Meatlug flew into the arena and stared down the Berserkers. At a hand signal from Astrid, Stormfly launched tail spines at a soldier. Fishlegs gave his dragon a hand signal and Meatlug tackled another Berserker.

"We must protect our honoured guests." Gobber exclaimed, trying to drag Dagur out of the arena but got shaken off. "Run if you want, but Dagur the Deranged will not retreat." The Berserker chief said, drawing his sword and facing Barf-Belch who had been freed by Namara while everyone else was distracted.. "Barf, gas." Ruffnut whispered, moving her hand away from her mouth as if blowing a kiss. Barf blew a cloud of gas out of his mouth.

"Belch, spark." Tuffnut ordered, pointing at his mouth. Belch ignited his brother-head's gas with sparks. Dagur was slammed into the wall by the resultant explosion. Astrid gave her Deadly Nadder another hand signal and Stormfly whipped Dagur with her tail, sending him flying into another part of the wall. Barf-Belch head-butted Berserkers away and ran out of the academy.

Dagur grabbed a spear and flung it at the Zippleback with scream but Toothless ran into the arena and grabbed the spear in his jaws, snapping the weapon in half and spitting the pieces at Dagur's feet. "A Night Fury. They do exist!" Dagur exclaimed. Toothless snarled at him hatefully.

"Get back, you fiend! You will not harm my friend Dagur." Hiccup said, holding a shield and dagger in his hands. He stood between Dagur and Toothless and hit 'accidently' hit Dagur in the chin with his shield. Hiccup used the distraction to give Toothless a hand signal. Toothless fired a plasma blast and Hiccup shoved Dagur out of the way just before the blast hit the wall.

By now, all the Berserkers were running out of the arena. "Please, Dagur. Save yourself." Hiccup pleaded. Toothless pretended to attack his rider and pinned him down. The other Dragon riders were fending off their dragons. Stoick grabbed Toothless's tail and tried to pull the Night Fury off his son. "You owe it to your people." Hiccup yelled.

"Berserkers, to the boats." Dagur ordered, narrowly dodging fire blasts from Hookfang. The Berserkers ran out of the arena and Gobber ran after them. "What about the treaty?" He asked. "Consider it signed!" Dagur yelled and ran away. The fake dragon attack only ended when the Berserker ships had vanished over the horizon now everyone was cleaning the arena up.

"Well done, Hiccup and Aniu. I doubt we'll be seeing much more of Dagur the Deranged." Stoick congratulated. "Let's hope not." Hiccup said and hugged Toothless.

 **"** **I used to think that four heads was a little crazy and I wasn't wrong."**

"I still Dagur's pretty cool." Snotlout told Ruffnut and Tuffnut who snapped their fingers. Barf-Belch used his gas and sparks to cause an explosion right in front of Snotlout. _"Dad!"_ Exclaimed two voices. Boomer-Banger flew into the arena and ran up to his father to give him a hug and an nuzzle. _"_ _Boomer-Banger!"_ Lefa-Rila yelled angrily, flying into the arena.

 _"_ _How could you sneak away from us?"_ Lefa asked angrily. _"_ _We got worried about Dad and went to look for him."_ Boomer explained. _"_ _Please don't punish us."_ Banger begged. _"_ _We have half a mind to ground you for a whole week."_ Rila snapped. The female Zippleback turned her attention to her mate. _"_ _Are you okay?"_ Lefa-Rila asked, nuzzling Barf-Belch. _"_ _We're fine."_ The male Zippleback chuckled.

 **"** **But Aniu and I will take crazy over berserk any day of the week."**

Once the clean-up was finished, Aniu and Nava went outside to talk. "Something tells me we can expect more trouble from Dagur the Deranged. A whole lot more." Aniu said. "Well, let's hope it doesn't happen for a while." Nava said. But before he left, Nava leaned in and gave Aniu a kiss on the lips.

Aniu returned the kiss and they parted after a few seconds. "I love you, Aniu. I always will." Nava whispered, leaning his forehead against hers and staring into Aniu's emerald green eyes. "I love you too, Nava. I always will for the rest of our lives." Aniu whispered, staring into Nava's sapphire blue eyes. She noticed that her golden-brown fringe was mixing with Nava's silver-blonde fringe.

"Are we interrupting something" someone asked. Aniu and Nava turned around to see Hiccup and Astrid staring at them. "Yes, you are." Aniu said. "Oh, we'll give you lovebirds some private time then." Hiccup said. "Actually, we were just about to leave." Nava said. Both he and Aniu flew away.

"You know, something tells me we are going to be seeing a lot more of Dagur." He remarked. "I'll be fine with it just as long he doesn't try to hurt anyone we care about or he will find himself on the receiving end of my axe." Astrid said. Hiccup smiled and kissed Astrid on the lips. Astrid returned the kiss and they parted seconds later. "I love you, Astrid Hofferson. I just never had the courage to say that till now." Hiccup whispered, staring into Astrid's ice blue eyes.

"I love you too, Hiccup Haddock." Astrid whispered, staring into Hiccup's emerald green eyes. The pair hugged and Astrid ran her fingers through Hiccup's dark brown hair while Hiccup ran his fingers over Astrid's golden-blonde hair."Come on, let's go. They'll be wondering where we are." Hiccup said. Astrid smiled and they called their dragons. Toothless and Stormfly came over, let their riders get on their saddles and took off.

 **Is anyone excited for episodes 14 to 26 of Dragons: Race to the Edge? I sure am. This chapter must be the longest chapter I have ever written on this site because it is 14 pages long on Microsoft Office. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.**

 **Updated: 5.01.2015 Australian Time**


	16. Defiant One

_"Dragon's speaking"_

 _'telepathical speaking'_

 _Thinking_

 **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly with their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf-Belch, Aniu and Nava. From now on, they will be called the Dragoniters.**

 **Please read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Defiant One**

 **"** **The life of a Viking can be difficult, harsh and stormy. No one can make it through alone. Eventually, you're going to have to rely on someone. Unfortunately, we don't always get to pick that someone."**

The Dragon Riders, Aniu and Nava flew through the stormy skies, looking for a missing fishing boat and its crew members. Hiccup and Aniu glared at Snotlout as he continued complaining. "This is so lame! Why are we even out here?" The Jorgenson boy asked. "Didn't you hear what Stoick told us, Snotlout?" Aniu asked angrily.

"Because this is our first dragon search-and-rescue mission." Hiccup answered Snotlout's question. "I see a lot of searching but not much rescuing. Do you even know where we are?" Snotlout said. "My Dad said the fishing boat was last seen heading south." Hiccup said. "Snotlout, if you don't shut up, we'll never find the boat." Nava said, flying closer to the Monstrous Nightmare rider.

"You don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing down there. I say we go north." Snotlout said. "And if Hiccup said to go north?" Astrid asked, trying to play a mind game. "Are you trying to mess with my mind? Because nothing gets in here. Nothing!" Snotlout yelled. _"No wonder he's so dumb."_ Stormfly scoffed.

"What does our map say, Fishlegs?" Astrid asked. Fishlegs tried to read the map but the wind blew it into his face. "Kinda tough to read from this angle." Fishlegs said, voice muffled. "You know what, Hiccup and Aniu? I'm done listening to you. I said north and north is where I'm going!" Snotlout yelled and tried to steer Hookfang away but the Monstrous Nightmare resisted. "Hey, you work for me." Snotlout snapped. Hookfang growled and turned to fly in the opposite direction.

"And once again, not a word got through his thick skull." Aniu sighed. "Are we just going to let him go?" Ruffnut asked, watching Hookfang fly away with Snotlout on his neck. "Works for me." Tuffnut shrugged. Hiccup and Aniu sighed and rolled their eyes, happy they didn't have Snotlout yapping in their ears anymore until they heard two people clearing their throats. They looked around and saw Astrid and Nava giving them a 'aren't you going to get him' look.

"Oh, alright. We're going. We're going. Come on, Toothless." Hiccup said. "Lead the others back, we'll get him." Aniu said, flying after Hiccup and Toothless. "Let's keep searching, guys." Nava called. The other Dragoniters followed him, Astrid and Stormfly through the sky.

* * *

Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless found Snotlout and Hookfang about to fly into a giant waterspout. "Wow, look at the size of that waterspout." Hiccup marvelled. "That waterspout is way too dangerous! Get out of there now!" Aniu yelled as the wind currents started to get choppy. "That's why I'm flying around it! Duh!" Snotlout yelled at them.

"You're cutting too close! Look out!" Hiccup shouted. But it was too late. The wind started blowing Hookfang around like a leaf. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no! Help me! Someone please help us!" Snotlout screamed. Hiccup steered Toothless around and the Night Fury flew to help Snotlout and Hookfang, followed by Aniu. Hookfang was thrown out of the air currents and vanished from sight.

Snotlout had been pulled from his dragon's back and tossed around in the air. "We're coming!" Hiccup and Aniu yelled, flying closer to the waterspout so they could rescue Snotlout. Toothless had barely managed to grab hold of Snotlout when a sharp rock ripped through his prosthetic tailfin. Aniu cried out in pain when the sharp rock sliced a gash on her wing.

"Toothless, Aniu, hang on!" Hiccup screamed when the guardian and Night Fury were grabbed by the wind and thrown out onto an island. They barely avoided rock spires and dead trees before they hit the rocky ground and fell unconscious.

* * *

Back on Berk, the missing fishing boat had returned thus rendering the whole dragon search and rescue unnecessary. "Push, Gobber and Fengo." Stoick commanded as he and Namara pulled a cart containing wood logs up a ramp. "We are pushing. " Gobber and Fengo said. "Well, it certainly doesn't seem like it. Push harder." Stoick said. "Oh, there they are." Gobber said as the Dragoniters minus Hiccup, Toothless, Aniu, Snotlout and Hookfang landed.

"I'm glad you're back. The fishing boat has returned." Stoick said. "You could've told us that before we left." Tuffnut said sarcastically. "Excuse me?" Stoick asked, glaring at him. "Uh, nothing, chief. That was her." Tuffnut stammered, putting the blame on his sister. "Hey!" Ruffnut snapped at him. "Where's Aniu and Hiccup?" Fengo asked. "They had to double to get Snotlout." Astrid said.

"I said leave them." Tuffnut said, jumping off Belch. Stoick, Fengo and Namara glared at him. "Uh, her again. I don't know what her deal is." Tuffnut said, gesturing to Ruffnut as she dismounted Barf and punched him on the shoulder. Stoick, Fengo and Namara still looked worried. "Nothing to worry about, you three. You know how hard it is to get Hiccup off that dragon and away from Aniu." Gobber reassured his friends.

* * *

If only they had known where Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless and Snotlout ended up, they would've gone after them straight away. Hiccup had regained consciousness and was now running around and calling out for his comrades. Then he saw Aniu lying unconscious on the ground. "Aniu!" The Haddock teen yelled, running over to his best guardian friend.

"Uh, what happened?" Aniu groaned, regaining consciousness. "Oh, thank the gods you're okay." Hiccup said, hugging Aniu in relief. Aniu smiled and hugged her surrogate brother back but hissed in pain. "What's wrong?" Hiccup asked her in concern. Aniu slowly lifted one wing and there was a rather long gash on it that was still leaking blood.

"Oh, Aniu. I'm so sorry." Hiccup said. "It's not your fault. You didn't know that rock would do this to my wing and Toothless's prosthetic tailfin. Wait, where's Toothless?" Aniu said. "We better go find him and Snotlout." Hiccup said, helping Aniu up and they began looking for the Night Fury. "Hiccup, over here!" Aniu called. Hiccup ran past her and found Toothless lying on the ground unconscious.

"Toothless, are you okay?" Hiccup asked, worriedly checking his dragon for any injuries. "Come on, Toothless, say something." Aniu begged. Toothless blearily opened one forest green eye. _"Must you always be so dramatic?"._ He asked before noticing Aniu's injured wing. _"_ _Aniu, you're hurt."_

"Don't worry about me. My wing will be fine." Aniu said, using water magic to clean the blood off her flight appendage. "That wasn't our best landing, wasn't it? Oh, great. Your tailfin is gone and the connecting rod is a mess. What are we supposed to do now?" Hiccup asked, examining Toothless's prosthetic.

"You can start by getting me out of this stupid tree!" Snotlout yelled down to them from where he was stuck up high in a tree. "Hey, Snotlout!" Aniu called, cheerfully waving up at the fuming Viking teen. _"Let me handle this."_ Toothless said with a smug grin and shot a small plasma blast at Snotlout, knocking him out of the tree and onto the ground.

"Well, that looked like it hurt." Hiccup said, standing over his cousin. "Go...jump...off a ... cliff." Snotlout groaned out. "Hey, he's back. Lucky us." Hiccup said. "Hey, where's Hookfang?" Aniu asked, noticing the absence of one certain Monstrous Nightmare. Snotlout instantly stood up. "Hookfang! Hookfang! Where are you? Hookfang, get your tail over here now! Hookfang? Hookie? Fangster?" Snotlout called out, walking to a cliff edge and seeing a rather familiar barren, rocky island around them.

"I don't think he's here, Snotlout." Hiccup said. "Obviously. Pig-headed dragon." Snotlout scoffed. "Don't worry, we'll find him." Aniu said optimistically. "Now all we have to do is figure out of here." Hiccup said. "First things first, we need to fix Toothless's prosthetic tailfin and I need to heal my wing." Aniu said.

* * *

Hours passed and night time had arrived. Hiccup and Aniu (who had healed her wing injury but still wouldn't be able to fly for at least three days) were fixing Toothless's prosthetic tailfin while Snotlout rummaged through the satchel Hiccup had brought with him.

"Okay, that should work." Hiccup mumbled, examining the spare yellow tailfin he had used. "This might be a little tougher." He picked up the bent connecting rod and used a boulder to try and straighten it out but Hiccup lost his grip and the rod hit him in face. "Ow, ow!" Hiccup yelped, covering his eye.

"Are you okay?" Aniu asked. "Just a little bruise but I'll be fine." Hiccup said. "There is nothing to eat in here, you two. What kind of search and rescue mission is this?" Snotlout complained. "We had no idea we were going to end up on this island." Aniu told him, trying to keep her voice calm and collected. "Instead of complaining, how about you try to help Aniu and I?" Hiccup asked.

"I am trying to help you and Aniu. I'm trying to teach to teach you about survival. You don't leave home without proper supplies. And at the top of that list is food." Snotlout said. "Like the food in your hand?" Hiccup asked. "You mean this old biscuit? It's got a spot of mould on it." Snotlout said. "We got bigger problems than a biscuit!" Hiccup yelled, angrily snatching the biscuit out of Snotlout's hand then Toothless ate it.

"He ate my biscuit! What kind of a dragon takes a man's biscuit?" Snotlout cried out. "You know, his bad manners are a reflection on you." Hiccup sighed and went back to fixing the connecting rod. "Give me that. You're doing it all wrong. You need to put some muscle into it. Oh, that's right, you can't." Snotlout jeered, bending the rod. "Snotlout don't!" Aniu exclaimed when she the connecting rod was being bent the wrong way. "Be careful with that or it might break!" Hiccup yelped before the connecting rod snapped in two pieces. Hiccup and Aniu face palmed. "You wanted two of them, right?" Snotlout asked stupidly. "Snotlout, you really are an idiot." Aniu groaned.

"Nope. That was our only way of getting home. Aniu can carry both of us in her dragon form but she can't carry Toothless and she won't leave him behind. Besides, her wing is injured." Hiccup said. "It's not my fault your dragon has a missing tailfin and Aniu's wing is injured. Just get another rod. Aniu can ride with us on Toothless's back." Snotlout said.

"Don't you understand? We have no idea where we are." Hiccup snapped, starting to lose his temper. Then Aniu and Toothless heard voices approaching. "Guys, quiet down." Aniu hissed while Toothless snarled. Hiccup and Snotlout immediately shut their mouths. "You hear that? Over there." One of the voices said.

Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless and Snotlout hid behind a rock wall and peeked through a hole. "What do you see?" Snotlout asked rather loudly. "Would you be quiet?" Aniu asked in a low whisper. "For all we know, we could be on a hostile island." Hiccup said. "Don't be babies. How hostile can it be?" Snotlout asked.

"Those are wild dragon tracks alright." One of the men said. "Good. I feel like killing." Another man grinned, readying his sword. "Is that hostile enough for you?" Hiccup asked Snotlout in a low whisper. Then, of all the people they could come across, an Outcast man walked past their hiding place. "Nothing over there?" A familiar voice asked. "Nothing there." The Outcast replied, walking back to his comrades.

"I know where we are now. That was Savage. Guys, we 're on Outcast Island." Hiccup groaned. "Of all the places we could've ended up on, we had to end up here." Aniu muttered."Come on, this way!" Savage yelled, leading his men away.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on Berk, Nava was sitting on the Great Hall's stairs with his arms around his knees and his wings folded loosely to his body. It was night time and still no sign of Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless or Snotlout. To be honest, he had a bad feeling in his gut and he was getting worried. "Any sign of them yet, Nava?" Fengo asked, flying over and landing beside him.

"Not yet. I just can't shake off the feeling that they are in danger somewhere." Nava replied gloomily. Fengo sighed and sat down beside him. "Aniu's a tough girl. She won't go down without a fight. But if someone dares to hurt her, they will pay with their lives." Fengo said. Nava smiled, Fengo had always been protective of his daughter. Then he decided to ask the adult guardian a question.

"Hey, Fengo. What do you think of Aniu and I being girlfriend and boyfriend?" Nava asked. "To be honest, Nava, I can't think of Aniu being in love with anyone but you. From when you two were just babies, you were always so close to each other. You and Aniu have always been there for each other. When you and Aniu decide to marry, I will be one of the happiest fathers alive. And I know your parents will be so happy too." Fengo said.

"My parents are coming in a short while, aren't they?" Nava asked. "They sent a letter saying they still have some unfinished business to do but once they are finished, they'll come as soon as they can." Fengo said. "Until they arrive and a house is built for us, I'll be staying in Astrid's house." Nava said. "Yes. Anyway, I think it's time we went to bed." Fengo said. "Yeah, I'm getting tired." Nava agreed.

The two guardians flew to their houses. Nava went into his room in the Hofferson House, took off his boots, lay down in his bed and pulled the blanket over himself. _Aniu, Hiccup, I hope you two are okay._ He thought, falling asleep and dreaming about his girlfriend and her surrogate brother. Fengo sighed as he took off his boots and lay down in his and Namara's bed. Namara came up the stairs minutes later, took off her boots and lay down beside him.

"I was just helping a Terrible Terror that had a thorn stuck in its paw." She said, pulling the blanket over them. "I'm worried about our daughter." Fengo told her. "I am too. But Aniu's a fighter. She's so protective of Hiccup and Toothless that the chances of her giving up without a fight is slim." Namara said. "I hope you're right, my beautiful wife." Fengo said, kissing his wife on the lips. Namara returned the kiss and they fell asleep in each other's arms and wings.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on Outcast Island, Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless and Snotlout weren't willing to go to sleep, because if they did, they were sure they would be waking up in an Outcast cell the next morning. "Outcast Island, I can't believe this. We've really got to fix this connecting rod and get out of here or we are dead." Hiccup said. Snotlout was eating some strange berries instead of listening.

"Snotlout, I'm not so sure you should be eating those berries." Hiccup said. "You know what they say: if you don't know what something is then don't eat it." Aniu said. "Well, I'm not so sure you should be telling me what to eat, especially after Toothless took my biscuit." Snotlout retorted, glaring at Toothless. The Night Fury sniffed at the berries in Snotlout's hand. "Hey, back off. These are mine." Snotlout snapped, shoving the black dragon away.

"Those berries could be poisonous." Hiccup said. "Hey, we're on Outcast Island. We're going into battle. We need our strength. A concept you know nothing about. I'm sure with Aniu's magic and Toothless's plasma blasts, we'll handle them." Snotlout said confidently. "Battle the Outcasts, really? Two Viking teens, a guardian teen and a Night Fury dragon against who knows how many Outcasts? I don't like those odds." Aniu said.

"Abtholutely." Snotlout said with a lisp. "What did you just say?" Hiccup asked. "I thaid, abtholutely. Ath in, of courthe." Snotlout said, his tongue was swollen to the point it was hanging out of his mouth."Oh, for the love of...I told you not to eat those berries." Hiccup snapped. "Why? Whatth wrong?" Snotlout asked. To answer him, Hiccup and Aniu pointed at a puddle of water. "Oh, no. I'm hideouth." Snotlout gasped, seeing and feeling his swollen tongue. "Don't worry, Snot. I learned about these berries in Guardian School. The effects are only temporary." Aniu said.

"Give me my satchel. It may have something that can help with your tongue." Hiccup said. "Thatchel?" Snotlout asked. "No, no, no. Do not tell me you just left the satchel there. If someone finds that satchel, we're in big trouble. It's got the Berk crest on it." Hiccup groaned. "Relaxth, we're safe. Trust me. No oneth going to find it." Snotlout said, sounding sure of himself.

"It's official: if the Outcasts capture us, I'm letting them beat you up first." Aniu sighed.

* * *

But unfortunately, Snotlout was dead wrong about someone not finding the satchel. "Oh, Alvin needs to see this." Savage smirked, holding the satchel in his dirty hands. If it was the one-footed boy, his Night Fury and his guardian friend, Alvin was going to be very pleased.

* * *

Back on Berk, Stoick, Fengo and Namara were very close to freaking out. Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless and Snotlout had been gone for two nights. "They've been gone for two nights. I thought you said they were right behind you." Stoick said. "They probably set down to wait out the storm."Astrid said, hoping for the best.'

"Or maybe, they encountered some trouble along the way." Nava said, worried about Aniu and Hiccup. "I see something." Fishlegs said, pointing up at the sky. "It's Hookfang!" Astrid and Nava yelled, recognizing the Monstrous Nightmare whose body was covered in flames. Hookfang landed in front of Stoick and let the fire burn out. Stoick held out his hand and Hookfang pressed his snout into Stoick's open hand.

"If Hookfang is here, then where's Snotlout?" Fishlegs asked. "And where are Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu?" Astrid asked anxiously. "Get your dragons ready. We're heading out." Stoick ordered.

* * *

In the Outcast Arena, a few Outcast soldiers were trying to tame a Deadly Nadder but their efforts were in vain. "I like this one. He's got the right spirit." Alvin said, grabbing the Deadly Nadder by the tail (its spikes were lying down flat) and threw it back into its cage and slamming the door shut.

"Will I never get these dragons to do what I want?" Alvin asked angrily, wondering if his methods or the dragons themselves were the reason why he was unsuccessful. "What you need is that book." An Outcast told him, referring to the Book of Dragons which they briefly had in their possession before the Dragoniters got it back with the help of Heather. "No, what we need is Stoick's boy and his guardian friend." Alvin said. Just then, Savage ran into the arena. "Alvin!" He called out and threw the satchel to his chief.

"The Berk crest. Oh, is it my birthday?" Alvin crowed, noticing the familiar red dragon stamped prominently on the bag. "Uh, I didn't get him anything. What does he like?" An Outcast soldier asked, thinking it really was Alvin's birthday. "Stop gossiping and bring me the owner of this bag." Alvin ordered. "Do you want them alive?" The soldier asked. "Why not? For now." Alvin said, smirking evilly. The Outcasts scurried to grab their weapons.

* * *

On a high platform of rock, Hiccup and Aniu were using spy glasses to scope out the surrounding area. "There's a lot of dragons flying around." Aniu remarked. "Wait, there it is. We just need to wait until the blacksmith leaves and then we can sneak in there and make a new rod." Hiccup said, staring through his spy glass at the stone building that just had to be the forge.

Snotlout had his tongue dipped in a bowl full of a clear liquid. "How long do I have to leave my tongue in here? It's disgusting. I saw Toothless spit in it." Snotlout said. Hiccup and Aniu threw proud looks at Toothless who grinned at them smugly. "He did indeed. Night Fury saliva has incredible healing properties." Hiccup said. _"Indeed I do. Many dragons do actually. It's why many of us lick our wounds once we cleaned the blood off."_ Toothless said. Aniu translated his words to the boys.

"Ick. It tastes like yak pies." Snotlout complained. "Don't worry, Snotlout. You won't have to keep your tongue in there for long." Aniu said. "That's a relief." Snotlout said.

* * *

Meanwhile, out at sea, the other Dragoniters were searching for their friends with Stoick, Thornado, Gobber, Sonica, Fengo and Namara. "Follow your rider's scent, Hookfang. No matter how bad he smells." Namara called out to the Monstrous Nightmare. _"I keep trying to tell Snotlout to take a bath more often but he doesn't listen. Oh, that's right, he can't understand me. Maybe I should just throw him into a clean-water pond and make sure he scrubs himself down."_ Hookfang replied.

"It's Snotlout. How hard can that be? He stinks so bad." Astrid said. _"Agreed."_ Stormfly said. "Stormfly just said she agrees." Nava told Astrid. "Are we there yet?" Tuffnut asked. "No!" Stoick yelled. "I have to go to the bathroom." Ruffnut said. "You should've gone before you left." Fengo said. _"_ _Hang on! I think I've got their scent!"_ Hookfang roared. "Hookfang's got their scents!" Nava yelled. The search and rescue party followed the Monstrous Nightmare.

* * *

Thunder rumbled in the dark sky as Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless and Snotlout made their way to the Outcast forge. "Come on, hurry. We don't know how long the blacksmith is going to be absent from his post." Hiccup said. "Betty Botter bought some butter. "And..." said she "this butter's bitter. If I bought ..."" Snotlout rambled. "What are you saying?" Aniu asked him, annoyed. "Enjoying my tongue again." Snotlout said.

"Well, I'm glad someone is." Hiccup said sarcastically before a Monstrous Nightmare appeared. "Hookfang!" Snotlout exclaimed before realizing this dragon was not his dragon. "Not Hookfang." Snotlout said. "It's a wild Monstrous Nightmare." Hiccup said. Toothless ran in front of them and roared at the Stoker Class dragon.

"Toothless, stop." Hiccup ordered, getting between the two dragons. The boy held out his hand and the Monstrous Nightmare was about to press its snout against it when arrows shot past them. "There they are. The Berk intruders." An Outcast soldier said. "Run!" Aniu yelled. She, Hiccup, Toothless and Snotlout ran away while the Monstrous Nightmare shot fire at the Outcasts and flew away.

The four ran through a shallow crevice. "Circle back around, bud." Hiccup told his Night Fury. Toothless nodded and ran in another direction. "Be careful, Toothless!" Aniu called after the black Strike Class dragon. "There they go, that way!" An Outcast soldier yelled. "I really hate these Outcasts." Aniu muttered as she ran slow enough for Hiccup and Snotlout to keep up with her.

After some time, they managed to lose the Outcasts. They saw Toothless and chased after him. "Coast is clear." Aniu said. She, Hiccup and Snotlout moved out from the rock they were hiding behind. The three teens watched Toothless lead the Outcasts away from them. "Good. They're gone. All right, we'll just wait until Toothless comes back then head to the blacksmith shop." Hiccup said.

"No way. I'm not going anywhere near that place. You almost got us caught." Snotlout snapped. "Oh, here we go again." Aniu groaned as Toothless returned. "I almost got us caught? The only reason the Outcasts know we're here is because you lost the satchel with the Berk crest on it." Hiccup said. "Well, who brought the satchel with the Berk crest on it to Outcast Island?" Snotlout fired back.

"Well, I had no idea we were going to Outcast Island." Hiccup defended himself. "So you're not prepared and I get blamed. Hmm." Snotlout snorted. "Fine. If you don't like my ideas then please let us hear one of yours." Hiccup said. Snotlout had nothing to say. "Precisely as I suspected." Hiccup said, walking over to Toothless and giving him a pat. "There you go. Good job, bud. At least someone's pulling their weight around here." Hiccup said.

"Oh, you are so smug!" Snotlout exclaimed angrily. "Me?" Hiccup asked. "'Hiccup's so smart.' 'Hiccup's so brave.' 'He killed the Red Death.' 'He trained the dragons.' 'He's got a metal foot.'" Snotlout said. "Metal foot? That's what's bothering you?" Hiccup asked angrily. "No, it's what the leg is attached to." Snotlout said.

Aniu had stayed silent as the two boys argued but now she had enough. "WOULD YOU TWO JUST SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP? It's hard to believe you two are cousins because you don't act like it! I'm so sick of you two arguing all the damn time! Snotlout, if you had just listened to us, we would not be in this mess in the first place! Grow up and stop thinking you're the best! I had enough. I'm going to the blacksmith shop on my own. Feel free to join me when you two have settled your differences." Aniu yelled at them and ran away.

"Aniu, wait! It's too dangerous!" Hiccup yelled but Aniu was already out of sight. "You go on ahead. I'll catch up." Snotlout said. "Thanks, Snotlout." Hiccup said sincerely, getting onto Toothless's back. The Night Fury ran in the direction Aniu had gone. "Good luck, cousin." Snotlout said under his breath.

* * *

Aniu walked to the blacksmith shop, huffing angrily. Why couldn't Hiccup and Snotlout get along for once and why did Snotlout have to be an arrogant, vain idiot all the time? Aniu cared about Hiccup greatly. They were basically surrogate siblings by bond. They stuck together through thick and thin. "Aniu, wait!" Hiccup's voice called. Toothless ran up to her with Hiccup on his back.

"Aniu, I'm sorry." Hiccup apologized. "Yeah, me too. I shouldn't have exploded like that but you guys were driving me mad." Aniu accepted his apology. "Yeah, anyway we need to get another connecting rod so we can fix Toothless's tailfin, grab Snotlout and get off this island. Snotlout's still at the place where we argued, hopefully." Hiccup said. Aniu nodded and the three continued on their way to the blacksmith shop.

* * *

The search party was flying through the night sky when Fishlegs spotted something in the water. "Uh-oh. You guys need to see this!" He alerted. "Okay, Stormfly. Tail fip." Astrid ordered. Stormfly flew down and used her tail to grab the object and gave it to her rider. "Toothless's tailfin." Astrid gasped, recognizing the red fabric in her hands.

"Oh, no. Toothless lost his tailfin. If Toothless doesn't have his prosthetic tailfin, he can't fly and Aniu can't carry him, Hiccup and Snotlout." Fishlegs gasped in horror. "Enough! They're probably stranded at sea. We fly close to the water." Stoick said. "I hope there's a sea stack somewhere so I can go to the toilet." Ruffnut said. Everyone threw her disturbed looks.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless had reached the blacksmith shop. Hiccup and Aniu slipped through the bars that made up the doors but Toothless couldn't get through. "Back there, bud. Saty hidden." Hiccup told him. "Keep a look out for any Outcasts." Aniu said. _"I will."_ Toothless said and walked away.

While Hiccup and Aniu searched around the forge for a connecting rod, a wild Gronckle saw Toothless and attacked him, sending them falling into a crevice. Toothless dodged the Gronckle's attacks, waited until the Boulder Class dragon had used up its shot limit and hit it with plasma blasts, sending the Gronckle flying. Toothless tried to climb out but was unsuccessful. He knew he couldn't roar for help or he would attract unwanted attention.

In the Outcast forge, Hiccup and Aniu had found a suitable connecting rod and were trying to hammer it into the right shape. "Come on, Hiccup, hurry." Aniu said before a pair of large, dirty hands covered her mouth and another pair wrapped chains around her wings. Hiccup dropped his hammer and tried to help Aniu but Savage grabbed him.

"And what are we making, Hiccup?" The second-in-command of the Outcast Tribe sneered. "Uh, a gift for Alvin. To thank him for his hospitality. Oh, boy." Hiccup groaned. "Well, you can thank him in person. Grab him!" Savage ordered. Two Outcast men grabbed Hiccup despite his struggles. Aniu tried to help Hiccup but a man caught her. "Let's take them to Alvin." Savage said and the two teens were dragged outside.

* * *

Toothless had managed to find a way out and ran to the place where they had left Snotlout who was waiting somewhat impatiently for him, Hiccup and Aniu. "Where are they?" Snotlout asked himself impatiently. "They've been gone for a long time. I hope they didn't get into any trouble." Toothless ran up to him. "Toothless? Where are Hiccup and Aniu? Are they in trouble?" Snotlout asked. "Let's go find them, Toothless." _Finally._ Toothless thought as Snotlout got on his back. The Night Fury ran to the blacksmith shop.

When they got there, Snotlout kicked open the door and began calling for his cousin and his friend. "Hiccup! Aniu! Stupid dragon, they aren't even here." Snotlout said. Then his foot stepped on something. "Hmm, this looks familiar." He said, picking up the connecting rod which had dropped when Hiccup and Aniu were captured by the Outcasts.

Then he remembered Toothless needed the connecting rod and turned around to fix the Night Fury's prosthetic tailfin only to come face-to-face with an Outcast holding an axe. "Aaahh!" Snotlout screamed and barely dodged the axe as it was swung at him. Toothless heard the commotion, snarled and saw Snotlout fending off an Outcast.

Snotlout kicked the man in the gut, sending the Outcast flying into a wall. The Jorgenson boy turned around with a cocky grin on his face. Toothless saw the Outcast get up and alerted Snotlout with a roar. The Outcast grabbed a battle hammer and knocked the connecting rod out of Snotlout's hand. He tripped over a barrel and fell down on the ground.

Snotlout and Toothless exchanged a look and Toothless blasted the connecting rod back into Snotlout's hand, allowing the Jorgenson boy to disarm the Outcast and kick him towards Toothless. The Night Fury head butted the Outcast and knocked him unconscious.

"You know what, Toothless? We make a pretty good team. I might not give you back." Snotlout said, walking out of the blacksmith shop. Toothless growled at him. "Kidding." Snotlout before seeing Hiccup and Aniu held hostage by a bunch of Outcasts and being lead up a pathway. "Now, let's get them, Toothless." Snotlout said, mounting the Night Fury. Toothless nodded and ran to save his rider and guardian friend.

* * *

"Stoick wouldn't have sent you two alone, where's the rest of your party?" Savage interrogated his two prisoners and he lead them up to where Alvin was. "Just us. It's just us. Taking a little vacation. You know, I heard Outcast Island is beautiful this time of the year." Hiccup said. "We just wanted to see how this place was going." Aniu added innocently. "And we are never going to tell you how to train dragons because you'll use them to destroy Berk and take over the archipelago."

"Alvin will get it out of you, in fact he'll enjoy it but trust me, you won't. Move!" Savage said. On a ledge high above them, Alvin was watching through a spyglass. "Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me!" He crowed. "I'm confused. Is it your birthday or not?" An Outcast asked. "As far as you're concerned, everyday's me birthday. Now, prepare the dragons, their trainers have arrived!" Alvin exclaimed.

Hiccup, Aniu and their Outcast guards were walking through a narrow pathway between two cliffs. Snotlout and Toothless waited on one cliff and Snotlout gave Toothless a signal then pushed some boulders off the cliff, blockading the pathway. Toothless plasma blasted some other boulders, leaving the people down below trapped.

"Toothless!" Hiccup and Aniu exclaimed, seeing their best dragon friend. "Oh, as usual, I can rely on no one but myself." Alvin growled. Snotlout fought off Savage and another Outcast while Hiccup unchained Aniu's wings. Toothless leapt into the fray to help his friends. Before long, all the Outcasts were defeated. "Oh, aren't we ever glad to see you, bud?" Hiccup asked, stroking Toothless's chin. "Thanks, Toothless. We really needed the help." Aniu said.

Then Savage ran up to Snotlout, yelling a battle cry with a large bone held in his hands. Toothless hit him with a low-powered plasma blast, knocking Savage over. When Savage got up again, he saw Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless and Snotlout glaring at him, realized he was outnumbered and made a hasty retreat. Snotlout chased after him to make sure he stayed away.

Hiccup quickly attached the connecting rod to Toothless's tail and Aniu checked her wing and saw it was healed enough for her to fly. Savage climbed up a rock wall and Snotlout climbed up after him. "Need some help?" Alvin sneered, holding out a hand. Snotlout tried to climb back down but lost his grip and fell. Toothless flew in and grabbed the Jorgenson boy before flying up into the sky with Aniu following.

Alvin threw his axe at them and it narrowly missed Snotlout. "Shoot them down!" Alvin ordered. Aniu and Toothless dodged the arrows and Toothless shot a plasma blast at some boulders, knocking them down. "How does that ninety-pound boy and that guardian girl repeatedly defeat an entire army of blood-thirsty savages?" Alvin asked angrily.

"Would you like me to answer that?" Savage asked timidly. "I know the answer. They'll be back. Oh, if I have to bring them back myself. They'll be back." Alvin growled.

* * *

Hiccup, Aniu and Snotlout cheered as they flew away from Outcast Island. "Do you realize what we just did?" Hiccup asked his cousin and surrogate sister. "We totally kicked butt." Snotlout laughed. "Kicked their heads in." Aniu added with a laugh. "Yeah and we kicked their heads in and butts together." Hiccup exclaimed. "Look, Snotlout, we're..." Hiccup and Aniu said together.

"Hungry, right?" Snotlout asked. "Yeah, we are actually." Aniu said. "Me too." Snotlout said. "Hiccup, I must admit, it was stupid to not have a spare connecting rod or two in your satchel." Aniu said. "Don't worry, I will remember to add a couple of spare connecting rods for whenever we go out on a mission. Hiccup assured her. The two Vikings teens, the guardian teen and the Night Fury lapsed into silence as they flew home.

"Hey, what's that?" A tired Fishlegs asked. "It's Hiccup and Aniu!" Stoick, Fengo and Namara exclaimed. "And they picked up a baby seal." Tuffnut said jokingly, referring to Snotlout. "Young ones, you're safe." Stoick said once Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless and Snotlout were close enough. "We never had a doubt." Gobber said. "Hello, where's my dragon?" Snotlout asked. Hookfang flew up to Toothless and nudged his rider.

"Hookfang! I'm still mad at you." Snotlout as his Monstrous Nightmare grabbed him and flipped his rider onto his saddle. Astrid and Nava grinned proudly at Hiccup and Aniu and Aniu moved to fly beside her boyfriend.

 **"** **Sometimes, the last person you want to rely on is the one you end up being stuck with. Now, being stuck with Snotlout was no picnic. But, who knew how much Aniu and I could rely on him?"**

The Dragoniters, Stoick, Thornado, Fengo, Namara, Gobber and Sonica flew back to Berk. As for Hiccup, Aniu and Snotlout: all they wanted was some rest, food and water. Toothless wanted to eat some fresh fish.

 **Ever since I started writing my Httydag stories, I have been trying to find a good name to call the group consisting of: Hiccup, Toothless, Aniu, Nava, Astrid, Stormfly, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Snotlout, Hookfang, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Barf-Belch. I have decided to call them the Dragoniters all through the stories. Fitting name, don't you think?**

 **And as for the group consisting of Arrow, Skyflier, Forestflier, Violet, Firesnow, Ignitis, Infernia, Clobbertail, Stonecruncher, Sweetiepie, Lefa-Rila and Boomer-Banger, I have decided to call them the Rider's Dragon's Mates and Offspring. RDMO for short. When it is just Skyflier, Forestflier, Violet, Ignitis, Infernia, Stonecruncher, Sweetiepie and Boomer-Banger they will be called the Rider's Dragon's Offspring. RDO for short. Arrow, Firesnow, Clobbertail and Lefa-Rila will be the Rider's Dragon's Mates. RDM for short.**

 **Episodes 14 to 26 of Dragons: Race to the Edge was awesome and more action-packed than before.(SPOILER ALERT) I was so relieved when it revealed Heather and Windshear were spying on the Dragon Hunters for the Dragon Riders. Ryker and Viggo are very good villains. I hope Dagur's still a villain.**

 **I am very excited for my future stories. It's agony to wait.**

 **Four more chapters to go before this story is over, folks!**

 **This chapter was 11 pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 20.01.2016**


	17. Breakneck Bog

_"Italics: Dragon's speaking"_

 _*Italics: telepathical speaking*_

 _Italics: Thinking_

 **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly with their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf-Belch, Aniu and Nava. From now on, they will be called the Dragoniters.**

 **Please read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Breakneck Bog**

 **"Everybody has lost something they thought they couldn't live without. Sometimes, to find it again you have to be willing to do anything even look fear right in the eye. Just make sure you don't blink."**

Stoick, Thornado, Gobber, Sonica, Hiccup,Toothless, Aniu, Fengo and Namara were flying around Berk. Trader Johann was late and they had gone out to look for him. "Where is he? He's been late before but never this late." Stoick wondered, clutching Thornado's saddle reins tightly in his hands. "I bet he got busy telling a tribe or not some of his stories and lost track of time." Fengo chuckled. "Or perhaps the weather was rough and he needed to find a safe place?" Namara guessed.

"Are you sure Trader Johann even has it?" Gobber asked from Sonica's back. The female Thunderdrum had volunteered to become Gobber's dragon until he found his own dragon. "I'm sure. I heard from Spitelout who heard from Stevenson the Shepherd who heard from Toadstat the fisherman who saw Johann put it on his boat himself." Stoick said. "Well, it doesn't get much surer than that." Gobber replied, already having lost track of who was involved.

"So who told or heard from who again?" Aniu asked, confused. "You know, it might help if Aniu and I actually knew what we're looking for." Hiccup called from Toothless's back. "We're looking for Johann. That's all you and Aniu need to know." Stoick said curtly as they flew back to Berk.

Once they landed on the docks, Stoick dismounted Thornado with a heavy sigh. "I'm sure he's just running late, Stoick." Namara said reassuringly, folding her wings. "I'm sure the thing you want will turn up safe and sound." Fengo added. "Not to worry, old friend. I agree with Fengo. It'll arrive safely and in good time." Gobber reassured, patting Stoick on the shoulder.

As the adults went back up to Berk Village and Thornado and Sonica went for a swim, an excited gleam lit up in Aniu's emerald green eyes. "You thinking what I'm thinking, my dearest surrogate brother?" She asked slyly. Hiccup nodded and patted Toothless. "Come on, bud. You, me and Aniu are going for a little field trip." He said, his own emerald green eyes gleaming. _"Just a long as we don't run or fly into any danger._ " Toothless said, his forest green eyes lighting up.

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, Hiccup and Aniu saddled Toothless up in the Dragon Training Academy. "Okay dokey, we'll start in the West Island s and work our back." Hiccup said, storing two salmon and a bottle of water in Toothless's saddlebags. "Back from where?" Astrid asked, flying into the arena on Stormfly. "You're not going on a adventure without us, right? I thought we made a pact." Nava said, flying in after them.

(Flashback starts)

 _The Dragon Trainers were relaxing in the Cove, enjoying the cool breeze with their dragons._ "You know, I think we should call ourselves something else other than Dragon Trainers because it's not really accurate." _Aniu piped up._ "I agree." _Nava sighed._ "So what should we call our group, riders, guardians and dragons altogether?" _Hiccup asked._ "I know. The Completely Awesome and Cool Dragon Riders and the Awesome Dragons and the Cool Guardians." _Snotlout suggested._

"Too long, Snotlout. We need a shorter name and one that's not a mouthful to say." _Astrid said._ "I've got an idea. How about the Dragoniters? Because most of what we do revolves around dragons." _Nava suggested._ "That's perfect!" _Aniu exclaimed._ "I agree. As the leaders of this group, we pronounce the name to be: the Dragoniters!" _Hiccup and Aniu proclaimed._ "The Dragoniters!" _The others cheered, dragons included._ "You know, I think we should have an oath." _Astrid suggested._

"That's great idea. How about this: As a member of the Dragoniters, I solemnly swear to keep the peace between humans, dragons and guardians, to help them when they are in need. I shall support my comrades and friends through in times of danger and times of peace. I shall not swerve in my duty. This I do swear. How does that sound?" _Aniu asked._ "That sounds really good." _Hiccup said._ "You got inspiration for the oath from the Guardians of Gahoole books, didn't you?" _Nava asked his girlfriend knowingly._ "Yep, I did." _Aniu smirked._ "Then, it's official." _Hiccup said and the Dragoniters said the vow._

(Flashback ends)

After that, Hiccup, Toothless, Aniu, Nava, Astrid and Stormfly made a pact that they would stick together until the end. "Just a quick spin around the island." Hiccup said. "Uh-huh. Quick spin, huh?" Astrid asked, dismounting Stormfly. "With enough fish to fill Snotlout's belly?" Nava asked, taking the two fish out of the saddlebag.

"Did I hear my name?" Snotlout asked, dismounting Hookfang after the Monstrous Nightmare landed in the arena. "Ooh, is that a salmon I see?" He took one of the fish out of Nava's hand and took a bite out of the salmon. "All right, if you must know." Hiccup said, scratching his head. "And we must?" Astrid asked as Snotlout munched loudly on the fish, not caring that it was raw and uncooked.

"We're going to do something for Stoick." Aniu said. Astrid, Nava and Snotlout stared at her. "Trader Johann is bringing something for him. Something important. And he should be here by now." Hiccup said. "You're not trading him this fish, are you? Cause it's delicious." Snotlout said, speaking with his mouth full. Hookfang snatched the remains of the fish from Snotlout's hand and ate it.

"Hey!" Snotlout yelped and snapped his fingers, asking for the fish back. Hookfang regurgitated the fish back into his rider's hand. Snotlout shook it off and took another bite out of it, not caring that it was covered in dragon saliva.

"When do we leave?" Astrid and Nava asked brightly. "We need to go alone." Aniu said. "If we all disappear then my dad will get suspicious." Hiccup said. "Go alone? You two without us? (laughs) Like you two could handle if we weren't there to bail you out." Snotlout said before choking on a piece of fish. One reason why one should never talk with its mouth full. That and it's disgusting manners.

Astrid punched Snotlout in the guts and the piece of fish flew out of Snotlout's mouth. "Oh, all right, fine. You three can come but that's it. Heed my warning. I am serious." Hiccup relented.

* * *

A while later, Aniu giggled as she saw Hiccup's deadpan expression. Snotlout had gone off and told Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut and so they and their dragons came along for the trip. "Hey, Hiccup. Snotlout told us there would be salmon and I love lots of them." Tuffnut said from Belch, his half of the Hideous Zippleback he and his twin sister Ruffnut shared.

"I'm pretty sure Aniu and I said 'don't tell the others'"." Hiccup told Snotlout. "I'm pretty sure I didn't listen to you and her." Snotlout replied. "Typical Snotlout." Aniu said, making Nava laugh. "Hiccup, aren't you always it's better when we work as a team?" Fishlegs asked. "Next time I say that just slap me in the face." Hiccup said.

"I'll do it right now." Ruffnut said. "She will. And she slaps like a guy. It's awesome. Watch." Tuffnut said. Ruffnut gave her brother a hard slap across the face. "Yeah." Tuffnut mumbled woozily. "Hey, look!" Astrid yelled, pointing at the ocean. "I can't see anything through the tears." Tuffnut said, the pain from his sister's slap causing tears to leak from his eyes.

Everyone saw a large piece of driftwood floating in the ocean with a familiar man lying unconscious on it. "Is that Johann?" Nava asked. "I thought he had a much bigger boat than that." Snotlout joked. "Come on, guys. Let's check it out." Hiccup said, steering Toothless into a dive. The others followed and Toothless picked Johann up in his claws.

"There's a sea stack big enough for all of us just up ahead." Aniu said. The Dragoniters flew to the sea stack and landed. Toothless gently lay Johann down and Aniu woke the trader up. "The fog...the fog." Johann kept whispering to himself, looking traumatised. "Johann, where's your ship?" Hiccup asked. "I have no idea. All I know is one minute I was sailing in a perfectly calm sea, the wind at my back. And the next thing I know, my entire ship is pulled out from under me and I'm shark bait!" Johann exclaimed, looking frazzled.

"I don't understand." Aniu said, handing Johann some cooked fish to ease his hunger. "I do! I was three days late and trying to make up time and I got too close." Johann said, taking a bite out of the fish. "Too close to what?" Nava asked. "Too close to... Breakneck Bog." Johann said, sounding horrified.

"Breakneck Bog." The Viking teens repeated. "Many a ship has sailed into its waters, few have returned." Fishlegs said, shuddering in fright. "My grandfather told me it's pirates." Astrid put in. "That's ridiculous. Everyone knows it's haunted by a Fog Monster." Snotlout said. "Fog Monster?" Fishlegs asked fearfully.

"The legend says the Fog Monster makes this really creepy moan. Then he surrounds you and scrapes the skin off your bones! (Fishlegs shrieked in fright) And then he scrapes the bones off whatever's under bones." Tuffnut said. "And then it drops the bones from the sky." Ruffnut added. "Yes, yes, it's true. What he says. It surrounded me. " Johann whimpered.

"See? Fog Monster. Not pirates. Haha, stupid grandfather." Snotlout chuckled, earning a jab to the gut from an offended Astrid. "Johann, we have to find your ship. There's something on for my father." Hiccup said. "Yes, yes, there was. But it wasn't for your father. It was for you." Johann told him. "For me? From who?" Hiccup asked.

"It was from your mother." Johann said. "My mother?" Hiccup asked. "That's impossible." Astrid said. "Hiccup's mother was taken by a dragon when he was just a baby." Nava said carefully, not wanting to sound insensitive. "What is it?" Hiccup questioned. "I have no idea, lad. It was in a chest with the Berk crest on it." Trader Johann said.

"I have to find it. Take us back there." Hiccup said. "You show us where you were when you lost your ship." Aniu said. "No! I won't! You can't make me! I have a knife in my boot!" Trader Johann shrieked. "I don't have a knife in my boot. But no more fog, please." He said meekly upon seeing the expressions on everyone's faces. "Johann, I know you're scared but we need to find your boat." Aniu said gently.

"All right, just tell us how we can find Breakneck Bog." Hiccup said. "Head due east. There's a group of islands in the shape of a human's hand. Breakneck Bog is the thumb." Trader Johann told the teens. "Snotlout, you and the twins take Johann back to Berk. " Hiccup ordered. "Take Johann back to Berk? With this clown and those clowns?" Snotlout asked in dismay. "Would you look at him, we don't have any choice. And if anything happens, you'll be glad you have them with you." Nava said.

"Question: what are the rest of us doing?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "We're going to Breakneck Bog." Aniu said.

* * *

Before long, Hiccup, Toothless, Aniu, Nava, Astrid, Stormfly, Fishlegs and Meatlug were on their way east to the cluster of islands Johann had told them about. Fishlegs came up with proposition for Hiccup to get out of the mission and flew Meatlug closer to Toothless. "What if I gave you something from my mother? Or I could give you my mother. You'll love her crab cakes." Fishlegs bargained.

Aniu and Stormfly flew closer to Fishlegs and Meatlug on both sides of them. "The fog...the fog." Astrid and Aniu whispered in spooky voices, grinning mischievously. Fishlegs yelped in fright and Astrid and Aniu laughed. "Tears, Astrid and Aniu? Is that what you want to see?" Fishlegs asked. "Sorry, Fish. We had to play a prank on you. The opportunity was too good to pass up" Aniu giggled.

"Look, there it is! Breakneck Bog." Nava said, pointing up ahead. They flew to the island that Johann said was the thumb.

* * *

Meanwhile, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Barf-Belch were still on the sea stack. Johann was clinging onto Hookfang's neck behind Snotlout, muttering in fright. "Still waiting for salmon." Tuffnut said, getting impatient. _"I want salmon too."_ Belch agreed with his rider. _"You always want salmon."_ Barf told his brother-head. _"Yeah, so do you."_ Belch retorted.

"This job is lame and so are you. Stop crying." Snotlout said to Johann. Then Ruffnut came up with an idea and lowered Barf down so she could tap Snotlout on the shoulder and whisper her into his ear. Snotlout smirked and Hookfang and Barf-Belch flapped their wings and flew off the sea stack.

* * *

The other Dragoniters had arrived at Breakneck Bog and scouted around the area but found nothing. "I don't get it. We flew all around the island. No boat." Hiccup said. "Not even the remains of a boat." Astrid added. "We must not have been searching in the right place." Aniu said. "Or maybe we missed something." Nava added. "You know what would take a boat? A Fog Monster." Fishlegs piped up.

Then the dragons, Aniu and Nava heard a rustle and a strange sound. Toothless, Stormfly and Meatlug snarled and flared their wings. Aniu had a small ball of fire appear in her hand while Nava prepared to throw an ice blast. _"I'm sensing something nearby."_ Meatlug growled. _"Me too and it doesn't sound or smell friendly."_ Stormfly hissed. _"Me as well. If Fishlegs's theory is correct it could be the Fog Monster."_ Toothless muttered.

"Settle down, guys." Hiccup said, laying a hand on his Night Fury's head. "It's okay, Meatlug." Fishlegs assured his Gronckle. "What was that?" Astrid asked, grabbing two of Stormfly's horns. "Only one way to find out." Hiccup said, leading his friends further into the woods. "Wait a minute. You don't go towards the weird, scary sound." Fishlegs said. "Yeah, we do. We always do." Astrid said. "It's an occupational hazard." Nava said. "I hate that about us." Fishlegs groaned.

Time passed and they were still walking through the forest. The riders had decided to dismount their dragons and walk on foot. Fishlegs froze when he felt something crack under his feet. "Bones. That's just perfect." He muttered, seeing the pile of bones scattered across the ground. "It may just be the remains of some carnivorous animal's dinner." Aniu said. "And they didn't bother to clean up after themselves." Nava added.

They continued walking in silence until Stormfly heard something and grabbed Astrid, barely getting her out of the way of a falling ship's anchor in time. Astrid, still reeling in shock from nearly getting hit by a falling anchor, looked up and saw a large ship stuck at the top of a very high tree. "Wow. Trader Johann's ship." She gasped.

"He really got off course." Hiccup remarked. "No kidding." Aniu agreed. "How did the boat get up there?" Nava asked in disbelief. "Fog Monster." Fishlegs gulped. Everyone gave him deadpan looks. Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs got on their dragons before Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Aniu and Nava flew up to the ship. But when the three dragons and two guardians were about to land, they backed off.

"Stormfly." Astrid yelped. "They're afraid and they're dragons and guardians, so we should ask ourselves: what are we doing?" Fishlegs gulped nervously. "The boat's too unstable." Aniu said. "It won't hold all of us." Nava added. "That's boat's not going to hold them. We have to jump down and send the dragons below." Hiccup said. "Great. That's just perfect." Fishlegs muttered. The three riders jumped off their dragons and landed (well, Fishlegs crash-landed) on the deck. Aniu and Nava dropped down and landed, tucking their wings in.

Hiccup turned to his Night Fury who was hovering patiently beside the boat with Stormfly and Meatlug. "Toothless, ground." He instructed. _"Okay, come on, girls."_ Toothless said, flying back down to the ground with the Deadly Nadder and Gronckle following. "Stay where you can hear Daddy." Fishlegs called down to his beloved dragon.

"Okay, let's just find this thing and get out of here. We're looking for a chest with the Berk crest on it." Hiccup said before a bone landed with a clatter on the deck. "Care to explain that?" Fishlegs asked nervously before it started raining bones. "Below deck!" Astrid exclaimed. The five teens ran down a bunch of stairs and listened to the clatter of bones hitting the deck. After a few minutes, it stopped. "Maybe that Fog Monster isn't so crazy after all." Aniu said.

"Ah, it was just a little bone shower and it passed." Hiccup said. "Bone shower. Am I the only one who thinks that's weird?" Fishlegs asked. "You're not the only one." Nava said. "Okay, it's a little weird." Hiccup agreed. "So is that." Fishlegs squeaked upon hearing a scraping sound. "If I was a superstitious person, I would believe this ship was haunted by ghosts." Aniu said. "And not the Harry Potter kind of ghosts." Nava added, remembering the ghosts he had read about in the book series.

"Okay, let's just start looking for the chest and quickly, that really doesn't sound like friendly scraping." Hiccup said. As the five teens went around the ship, looking for the chest, the scraping continued. "What do you think your mother wanted to give you?" Aniu asked curiously. "I have no idea but I...Yes!" Hiccup whooped when he spotted a small chest with the Berk crest on it. Aniu giggled when she saw him hug it protectively to his chest.

Just then, Fishlegs ran up to them screaming. "Fishlegs, I found it." Hiccup told him. "Oh, thank Thor. There was hand with all the skin scraped off." Fishlegs managed to say before heavy, thudding footsteps were heard on the deck. "It's coming after us!" Astrid yelled. "Did you get the chest?" Nava asked. "Yeah, I did. Hide in there." Hiccup said frantically, spotting a closet against a wall.

Once they were inside, Hiccup closed the doors. "Nobody, breathe." He whispered. "Or move a muscle." Aniu added in a whisper. Then the doors jiggled as someone tried to open them. "I just want you to know, I love you guys." Fishlegs whimpered. "Yeah, we care about you too, Fishlegs." Aniu whispered before the doors were pulled open, causing them to scream until they saw who it was.

"Hey, guys. Need a hand?" Tuffnut snickered, holding a skeletal hand in his hand. Snotlout was wearing a golden necklace and he and Ruffnut were smirking. "Aarrgh." Astrid yelled in anger, tackled Tuffnut to the floor, pinned him down, grabbed the skeletal hand and repeatedly wacked Tuffnut over the head with it.

"Ruffnut, do something!" Tuffnut yelped in pain as the skeletal hand hit him repeatedly on the head. Instead of helping her brother, Ruffnut decided to have a go, grabbed the skeletal hand and began hitting her brother. "All right, break it up, you guys." Hiccup said, rolling his eyes. "You can hit him later." Nava said.

"So, let me get this straight, this was all you. The bones, the scraping..." Hiccup said. "That's right. And this was all you. Ooh, aah, eek!" Snotlout said. "Actually, most of that was me." Fishlegs piped up. "Okay. Why would you do that? What were you thinking?" Hiccup asked his cousin angrily. "That I was going to make you pay for sticking me with Trader Johann." Snotlout retorted. "Where is he?" Nava asked. "Don't worry about him, he's fine." Snotlout waved it off."Did you leave him on a sea stack?" Aniu asked, glaring at the Jorgenson. "Maybe, maybe not." Snotlout shrugged.

* * *

Meanwhile... _I am going to make those three nitwits eat limpets for lunch._ Trader Johann thought angrily as he sat on an isolated sea stack in the middle of the ocean.

* * *

"Just so you know, I'm not going to forget this. And what's with that stupid necklace?" Astrid hissed, hitting Snotlout in the gut with the skeletal hand. "Do you like it? It's just a little something I found on deck. I can grab one for you if you want one." Snotlout said suavely. Then...the ship slipped from the branches. Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang and Barf-Belch shrieked in alarm and back away. Everyone on board screamed as the ship fell to the ground.

The teens groaned as they pulled themselves together. "Everyone okay?" Hiccup asked, looking around at his friends. "Right as rain." Nava groaned. "Everyone here and accounted for?" Aniu asked. "Affirmative." Nava said, checking his wings. "Uh, guys?" Astrid asked, noticing fog seeping into the ship.

"Run!" Hiccup yelled but they couldn't go anywhere as fog billowed into the lower deck. "Okay, starting to come around on the Fog Monster theory." Hiccup said before they all screamed. Eventually, the fog went away and the teens were able to regain their bearings. "We're alive, right?" Ruffnut asked before Tuffnut poked her shoulder and she slugged him in the gut.

"Can we please just get out of here?" Astrid asked desperately. "Wait! The chest, it's gone. I just had it!" Hiccup panicked, finding out the chest was longer in his arms. "Too bad, so sad. See you back on Berk." Tuffnut said, running up the stairs with his sister, Snotlout and Fishlegs following close behind.

Toothless, Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug and Barf-Belch were waiting for their riders and the Monstrous Nightmare, Gronckle and Hideous Zippleback crooned happily as their riders leapt off the broken ship and mounted them. "Oh, I missed you, Meatlug. Don't worry, we're going home." Fishlegs told his dragon.

"You guys go on. I have to find that chest." Hiccup said. "Do what you gotta do. See you when we see you." Snotlout said. "Oh, come on. Have a heart, guys." Aniu said. "I'm not a girl." Snotlout retorted. "Hold on, you guys. That chest is from his mother." Astrid said. "Yeah, touching story. Gotta go." Tuffnut said. "put yourself in his shoes." Astrid implored. "Shoe." Ruffnut corrected her. "Ugh. What if it was your mother?" Nava asked. Well, that stopped them in their tracks.

Sighing, Fishlegs, the twins and Snotlout got off their dragons and stood in front of Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava. The only sound that could be heard was crickets chirping "I hate you and this does not mean we're really friends." Snotlout said."Thank you, guys. I mean it." Hiccup said sincerely, ignoring what Snotlout had said."Now, let's go find that Fog Monster."

* * *

Pretty soon, the Dragoniters were flying over the trees. Through the foggy environment, Astrid saw a much foggier patch of fog which seemed to have a mind of its own and was constantly changing direction while moving at high speed. "There it is!" She yelled, pointing. "Is it just me or does fog not move like that at all?" Hiccup wondered out loud. "Not just you." Nava told him before the mass of fog split in two and went in different directions.

"There's two of them!"Snotlout shouted. "It must know it's being followed." Aniu said. "Astrid!" Hiccup yelled. "On it!" Astrid yelled back as she, Stormfly and Aniu chased after the fog. The fog lead the Dragoniters into a rocky valley.

"We lost it." Hiccup said angrily. "So did we." Astrid replied. "Uh, it didn't lose us." Tuffnut said, pointing at a incoming patch of fog. Very quickly, the fog surrounded them, causing the dragons to growl in discomfort before they flapped their wings and hovered above the ground, using their wings to send gusts of wind to blow the fog away. "What are they doing?" Ruffnut asked. "They're leaving us." Tuffnut whined. "I don't know about Firesnow, Ignitis and Infernia but I knew Hookfang never liked me." Snotlout whimpered, referring to his Monstrous Nightmare's mate, son and daughter.

"I don't think they're deserting us." Aniu said. "They're not going anywhere. Look." Hiccup said, realizing what the dragons were doing. The fog cover was blown away, revealing dozens of smoke gray dragons barely bigger than Terrible Terrors. They had a large head, no visible neck, big wings, crooked spines and very long tails with spines on the sides. Smoke gushed out of their mouths as they glared with bright yellow eyes at the Dragoniters.

"They're dragons." Astrid gasped. "That's quite a relief actually." Nava said. "I hope they'll listen to us if we try to talk to them." Aniu said. "They look pretty angry." Snotlout pointed out. "I heard many dragons that travel in packs are more dangerous than when they are alone." Nava said. "These guys are probably more dangerous than Terrible Terrors." Aniu remarked. "And I hope I didn't jinx that."

"Oh, look on the bright side, Fishlegs. No Fog Monster." Hiccup said, hoping to calm his friend down. "I feel so much better now." Fishlegs squeaked. "What are those things?" Ruffnut asked. "They're like smoky, dragon pirates without eye patches." Tuffnut said. "Not all pirates have eye patches, Tuff." Aniu said. "And not all of them have hook-hands either." Nava added.

"Smothering Smokebreath dragons." Fishlegs gasped, realizing what the dragons were. "You knew about these things?" Snotlout asked. "Well, I read about them. I didn't believe they actually existed." Fishlegs defended himself. "So, you went with Fog Monster instead?" Astrid asked. "Guys, can we please talk about this later? What else did they book say?" Hiccup asked.

"They hide themselves in a veil of smoke, they're very territorial and...I forget the third thing." Fishlegs said timidly. "The third or last thing is usually the most important piece of information." Aniu groaned. The Smothering Smokebreaths flew in to attack and the Dragoniters tried their very best to fend them off. "There's too many of them! Let's fall back!" Hiccup yelled.

"Fall back where?" Tuffnut inquired. "Give us a fire line!" Aniu ordered. "Don't have to ask us twice." Tuffnut grinned as Barf let loose a cloud of gas and Belch sparked it, causing an explosion, forcing the Smokebreath dragons to retreat. The Dragoniters flew away to a safe place. "What are we doing? Why are we still here?" Fishlegs inquired. "I can't leave without that chest." Hiccup told him firmly.

"You don't even know if they have it!" Snotlout snapped. "Well, they do have Trader Johann's ship now." Aniu said, pointing at the ship being carried by a whole bunch of Smothering Smokebreaths. "Please don't get mad at me for saying this now, but I think Smothering Smokebreaths are Mystery Class dragons. They have many qualities of that classification." Nava said.

The ship was taken into a cave with a large entrance. "I have a good idea. Let's get a closer look." Hiccup said. When the Dragoniters got a bit closer to the cave, they saw Smothering Smokebreaths fly into it. "Fishlegs, anything more you will like to share?" Aniu asked. "Unfortunately, yes. The third thing is that Smothering Smokebreaths build their nests out of metallic objects." Fishlegs recalled what he had read, looking troubled.

"That doesn't sound so cosy or does it?" Tuffnut remarked. "It's not supposed to be. They do it to protect their younglings and defend against attacks by predators." Fishlegs said. The chest had quite a bit of metal on it. No wonder they took it." Aniu remarked. "I wish I could see in there." Hiccup said. The darkness of the cave made it very difficult to see the inside. "Yeah, you do." Tuffnut snickered, holding a spyglass.

"Where did you get that spyglass?" Nava asked, wings shifting in agitation. "Duh, from the ship or whatever that was in the tree." Tuffnut answered. Hiccup snatched the spyglass from him and peered through it. Inside the cave, he saw Smothering Smokebreaths breathing fire on numerous metal objects, causing them to glow red-hot. "They're melding them altogether." Hiccup said then he saw what he was looking for. "The chest! It's in there."

"We need to draw them away from the pile of loot." Aniu said. "Maybe we can lure them away." Astrid told her friend. "With what?" Nava asked. A whistle caught their attention and they saw Snotlout polishing the golden necklace he was wearing. "Shiny." He remarked before seeing his friends staring at him. "What?" He asked. Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava exchanged looks and grinned. "You have got to be kidding me." Snotlout groaned, realizing what they wanted.

* * *

One moment, Snotlout was wearing a golden necklace fit for a king and the next moment, he was using it as bait for the Smothering Smokebreaths. "Here, dragons! I got something for you, come and get it!" The Jorgenson boy called anxiously. The Smothering Smokebreaths saw the necklace and approached Snotlout in a swarm of fog. "I'm going to make Hiccup eat that chest." He muttered angrily. Once this was all over, he was going to have a few words with his cousin.

"Quickly, those things could be done with Snotlout any second now." Hiccup said, sneaking into the cave with Toothless, Aniu, Astrid, Stormfly and Nava. "No need to tell us twice." Aniu huffed. "Uh, nice dragons. Ow! Hey, watch it! Ouch!" Snotlout yelped as the Smokebreaths attacked him. "Um, guys. They're coming." Astrid warned her friends, noticing patches of fog seeping into the cave, signalling the Smokebreath dragons return.

"Hiccup, look out!" Nava yelled as Hiccup grabbed the chest and began climbing back down the pile of metal but was forced back by some Smothering Smokebreaths. "Toothless!" He called. The Night Fury roared and used his wings to blow the dragons back. Hiccup got onto his dragon's back and made a break for the exit with Aniu following. "Hiccup, Aniu, don't leave me!" Snotlout screamed, being pinned down by Smokebreaths who were trying to get his necklace.

"Great. Toothless, plasma blast!" Hiccup ordered. Toothless fired a bright blue plasma blast at the Smokebreaths holding Snotlout down, scaring them away. "Oh, yeah!" Snotlout whooped, getting on to Toothless's back behind his cousin. Everyone flew away from the cave but the Smothering Smokebreaths followed.

"Snotlout, would you leave the necklace?" Aniu asked as a Smokebreath tried to grab it. "No, it's my shiny!" Snotlout snapped. "Well, it's you or your shiny." Aniu told him. Snotlout sighed, took the necklace off and threw it to the Smokebreath who flew back home with it. "Hookfang!" Snotlout screamed. His Monstrous nightmare grabbed him and Snotlout clambered back into his saddle.

But the Dragoniters were still being pursued by the Smothering Smokebreaths. "I think we better talk to them if we want them to leave us be." Aniu said. "Be our guests!" Hiccup called as she and Nava hovered in place before the Smothering Smokebreaths who stopped. "We would like to speak to your leader." Aniu requested.

A Smothering Smokebreath came forward. _"What do you want and why did you invade our territory?"_ It asked. "My comrades were sent out to find a seafaring man who had gone missing. He had something on his ship that we really needed and so we came here to find it. But your fellow dragons took it and we want you to let us leave your home unpursued with the object which we have. I believe the object has no importance to you besides the metal on it that you need for your nest. The object was gift from a deceased relative of one of my friends. We will leave you alone and in peace unless we need your help with something if you let us go." Aniu said. The Smokebreath leader thought it out and said. _"Very well. We will let you leave in peace and unscathed if you promise not to bother us again unless you need something from us."_

"We promise." Nava said. _"Okay, then. Come on, Smokebreaths. Let's go back home."_ The leaser called, leading his fellows back to their cave. "Aniu, that was brilliant." Hiccup said once she and Nava rejoined the group. "Yeah, I surprised myself. Let's get back to Berk." Aniu said. "Agreed." Hiccup said, leading the Dragoniters back to Berk.

* * *

"All right, that's it. A little to the left." Stoick said as the Dragoniter dragons put Trader Johann's ship down on a beach. 'We're going to have clear the forest to fix that ship." Gobber joked. "I'll find material for the new sail." Namara said. "I better tell the ship-builders to get ready for a big repair." Fengo remarked.

"We're glad you're safe, Johann. Is there anything else we can do for you?" Stoick asked the trader who stood at his side. "Yes, just give me five minutes alone with the three who dropped me back in the ocean." Johann said angrily, glaring at Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut who exchanged nervous looks.

* * *

That night in the Haddock House, Stoick and Toothless were waiting for Hiccup to open the chest. "Go ahead, son." Stoick said gently. Hiccup slowly opened the chest and took out the object inside it. It was a small, stuffed dragon with his name stitched on one side. "I remember this." He said softly. "Aye, you should. Your mother made that for you when you were just a baby. It scared you to death after she was taken. You didn't sleep for a week." Stoick told him softly.

"What? I was afraid of dragons?" Hiccup asked in shock. Toothless leaned his head closer to his rider to get a better look at the toy. "Oh, terrified. One day, we were out fishing and you threw that thing into the sea." Stoick said. "How did you find it?" Hiccup asked. "Well, it showed up in a fishing net. Trader Johann got it in a trade and contacted me." Stoick said. "I was so little when Mum...you know. I was starting to get afraid that I would forget her. But now...I love it." Hiccup said.

"Oh, Hiccup. It would make your mother very happy to hear that." Stoick said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. That night, with Toothless and Aniu watching him, Hiccup placed the toy on his bed's headboard.

 **"Most people are afraid of things because they don't understand them. For me, it was dragons. Then one day, that changed and my greatest fear became my best friend."**

Hiccup mounted his dragon and Aniu opened her wings. They flew out of the window and headed to the Cove where Hiccup and Toothless became friends.

* * *

(Aniu's POV:)

Once we arrived at the Cove, Hiccup and I lay on our backs on the ground and watched the stars twinkle in the night sky while Toothless curled up beside us. "Hey, Hiccup. What was your mother like?" I asked my surrogate brother out of curiosity. Hiccup frowned as he tried to remember. "From what I can remember, she was a beautiful woman. So kind, so caring, so gentle, so loving, so calm. I think she had brown hair like me and blue-green eyes. I can remember her staring at me with eyes full of love." He said softly.

"I wish I could have met her." I said. "Yeah, I wish that too. But then she was taken by a dragon in a large raid." Hiccup said miserably. "Your mother was taken by a dragon?" I asked in shock. "Yeah, Dad cried for days. And five years later, Gobber's wife and daughter were taken by a dragon as well. Gobber's wife's name was Bertha and his daughter's name was Camicazi. Camicazi, Astrid, Fishlegs and I were best friends before Cami was taken and Astrid's uncle was killed by that Flightmare."

"How was your mother taken?" I asked. I didn't want to be nosy but I have a strong sense of curiosity, as you readers probably know. "I was just a few months old when this happened. I was one of the biggest dragon raids Berk had ever experienced. It's too painful for Dad to talk about. Gobber was kind enough to give me some details after he heard what happened. While everyone was fighting outside, a large dragon broke into the house Mum, Dad and I lived in. It found me in my cradle and went right up to me. The dragon did nothing but stare. I wasn't afraid and thought of the dragon as a playmate." Hiccup said. I stared at him and he continued on.

" The dragon let me touch one of its wing claws. Mum rushed in at that point and the dragon spun around to face her but its claw accidently scratched on the chin, as you can see here (He ran a finger over a small scar on his chin. I stared at it before redirecting my focus back to his story). For a few minutes, Mum and the dragon stared at each other. Dad later told me the dragon was a Stormcutter. Then Dad ran in and threw a weapon at the Stormcutter, scaring it into breathing fire at him. Mum tried to stop them and then (Hiccup sniffled and tears welled up in his eyes, I gently put an arm of a wing around him) the Stormcutter grabbed Mum and swooped out outside, carrying her away. After that, I started fearing dragons. I miss my Mum so much." Hiccup finished his story and leaned into my embrace, his slim body shuddering with soft sobs.

"Shh, there, there. You're gonna be okay." I whispered, running my fingers through Hiccup's hair to comfort him. Toothless curled his body and tail around us. "You'll always be my family, Aniu and Toothless." Hiccup whispered. I smiled and hugged Hiccup tightly. "You'll always be my family, Hiccup and Toothless." I whispered with a smile. _"You'll always be my family too, Hiccup and Aniu."_ Toothless said.

* * *

On an island a long distance from Berk, a woman sighed as she watched the stars. "Oh, Cloudjumper, I wish I could see my son and husband again." She said. The Stormcutter at her side crooned, nuzzled her and lay down. A Hobblegrunt, a Raincutter and a Snafflefang gave the woman reassuring nuzzles. Not one of them noticed a shooting star streak across the sky but a certain Bewilderbeast did. The Alpha dragon had a feeling that great things would happen in the near future.

 **I have posted Aniu and Nava's descriptions on my profile page. I might do a story with my characters information and update each chapter every time I reveal more about my characters.**

 **Yes, I will do Dragons: Race to the Edge but I got a short story called Nava's Parents Come to Berk then I've got Defenders of Berk. After that will a story called Guardian Island, another story called Fury Island the Dawn of the Dragon Racers and finally Race to the Edge. But it will take a long while before I can publish Race to the Edge.**

 **I have started watching a show called Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Netflix. It's pretty cool. Maybe I'll start watching Star Wars.**

 **This chapter was twelve pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 27. 01. 2016**


	18. Gem of a Different Colour

_"Italics: Dragon's speaking"_

 _*Italics: telepathical speaking*_

 _Italics: Thinking_

 **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: The dragon riders ride on their dragons while the guardians such as Aniu and Nava fly using their wings. All dragons with more than one head have a – between their names as each head has a name. For example: Barf-Belch, Lefa-Rila. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragoniters group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf-Belch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **Please read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Gem of a Different Colour**

 **"Vikings are strong, tough and courageous. But courage is a funny thing."**

The Dragoniters were in the arena with Gobber having another combat lesson. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were circling each other with shields held in their hands. Ruffnut charged and used her shield to disarm her brother of his shield and knock him down. The whole fight was over in just a few minutes.

 **"Many are born with it. For some, it's a never-ending struggle and for others, well, they just don't know enough to be afraid."**

"As I said a million times and as Ruffnut has demonstrated so splendidly, the shield can be your most important weapon. Who's next?" Gobber said. "Hold on. I don't get to hit her back?" Tuffnut asked in dismay. "On your own time. Hiccup, Astrid." Gobber said. While Astrid punched her fist into her open palm in excitement, Hiccup was a bit apprehensive at the thought of fighting his girlfriend, even if it was just a combat lesson.

"Well, I don't think it's really fair for me to be fighting Astrid..." Hiccup stammered before Astrid swung a fist at him. "Go, Hiccup." Nava hollered. "You can do it, buddy." Aniu cheered her surrogate brother on as Hiccup dodged the punch. The Night Fury rider managed to dodge a few more punches and even flipped Astrid over his shoulder but Astrid succeeded in pinning Hiccup down on his stomach and twisting his arm painfully behind his back. Astrid tried to do it gently but sometimes she forgot how strong she was.

"When you're in a situation like this, it is best to remain calm and take deep breaths." Gobber advised. Hiccup threw him a look that plainly said _I can barely even breathe so how can I do that._ "When that's not an option, I would advise playing dead." Gobber said. Hiccup feigned falling unconscious and Astrid got off him. "Just like that. Well done, Hiccup. Good form, Astrid." Gobber said.

"You okay?" Astrid asked her boyfriend in concern. "Never been better. Shoulder should pop back into in no time." Hiccup told her. Aniu came over and checked Hiccup's shoulder. "It's just a minor dislocation. This may hurt a little." She said before pushing Hiccup's shoulder back into place. Hiccup let out a grunt of pain and carefully flexed his shoulder.

"Thanks, Aniu. You're the best." Hiccup groaned, carefully rotating his shoulder. "Don't mention it, Hiccup. Just be careful with your shoulder until all the pain has gone away." Aniu advised. "Aniu, Nava, let's see what you've got, lovebirds." Gobber chuckled. "All right, then." Nava and Aniu said as they got into position.

The two guardians charged at each other and were equally matched for several minutes until Aniu managed to get the upper hand and grunted as she pinned Nava down on the ground. "Gotcha." Aniu smirked triumphantly. But Nava managed to flip her over, reversing the pin so that Aniu was the one pinned. "Nope, I got you." He smirked. "If they kiss, I'm going to puke." Tuffnut said, feeling uncomfortable at how affectionate Aniu and Nava were being with each other.

"Nava, Aniu, if you two are done we'll like to move this lesson along." Gobber said. "Sorry. Gob." Nava said, getting off Aniu and helping his girlfriend up. "Snotlout, Fishlegs, it's your turn." Gobber called. Snotlout grinned and got ready but Fishlegs wasn't there. He and Meatlug had been absent all throughout the lesson as a matter of fact. "Fishlegs, don't be shy. Vikings can't always rely on dragons to protect them. Thoughs on Fishlegs's whereabouts, anyone?" Gobber asked.

* * *

On an island away from Berk, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie enjoyed the sunset on a sandy beach. "What a glorious day, your four. All of us on our own secret island, no dumb old hand to hand combat lessons and more importantly, not a Snotlout for miles." Fishlegs said, tossing stones for his Gronckles to eat before shivering as a cold wind blew.

Meatlug spat a lava blast at the ground, starting a campfire. Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie huddled up to their 'Uncle Fishlegs'. Clobbertail yawned and curled up for a nap beside his family and his mate's rider. To show how much he loved them, Fishlegs decided to start singing a song:

"There once were four Gronckles

Who were cuter and smarter than sea slugs.

When they met their pal Fish,

It fulfilled his greatest wish

To love them and give them big bear hugs."

Meatlug yawned and walked away from him. Clobbertail got up and followed his mate. "Hey, where are you two going?" Fishlegs asked. Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie were wondering the same thing when they saw their parents stop at a patch of sand and start digging. Once the two Gronckles had stopped digging, they and Fishlegs (who had come over to see what they were doing) stared at something glowing. "What is that?" Fishlegs gasped in awe.

Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie came over and asked the same thing. _"We have no idea but it's very beautiful."_ Meatlug told her children. _"We better take it to Berk and see what it is."_ Clobbertail said. "I have to show Hiccup, Aniu and the others." Fishlegs said, staring at his new discovery.

* * *

Night time had arrived on Berk and the Dragoniters were hanging out in the plaza. "I'm starting to get a little worried about Fishlegs. Do you think he's okay?" Astrid said. "I hope he didn't get captured by the Outcasts." Aniu said. "I don't think so. He looks okay to me and he's flying towards us right now." Ruffnut said.

Sure enough, Fishlegs and Meatlug were flying towards them with Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie in tow. "Is Fishlegs glowing?" Tuffnut asked, noticing that Fishlegs's satchel was glowing ever-changing colours. "Actually, I think he is." Hiccup said. "His satchel is." Nava said. "Not for long." Snotlout grinned, cracking his knuckles.

The four Gronckles landed and Fishlegs hopped off Meatlug. "Uh, Fishlegs, where were you this afternoon?" Hiccup asked."You missed hand to face combat. My hand to your face." Snotlout said. "I prefer to use the part of my body above my neck." Fishlegs said, referring to his brain. "What neck?" Snotlout scoffed. Fishlegs was so chubby his neck wasn't even visible but he was planning to start losing some weight soon.

"Oh, amusing. But I refuse to encourage your violent tendencies, Snotlout." Fishlegs replied coolly, not in the mood to argue. "Don't knock it till you try it."Snotlout retorted. "He's glowing again." Ruffnut told her brother. "I know, it's spooky." Tuffnut replied. "It's not me that's glowing. It's this." Fishlegs said, taking a round, gem-like object that was glowing different colours which were constantly changing.

"Wow." Everyone gasped. "What is it?" Hiccup asked in wonder. They brought the object to the Great Hall for some answers because Fishlegs didn't know what it was. The dragons didn't know either when Aniu and Nava asked them. Fortunately for the Dragoniters, Gobber knew what it was.

"It's a Stone of Good Fortune. My great uncle's brother once told me of its powers." He explained to the amazed Dragoniters and a crowd. "I thought he was mute." Mulch piped up. "Until he found the stone then we couldn't shut him up." Gobber said. "This stone brings good luck to whomever touches it."

"'Stone of good fortune'? Huh." Snotlout said, an idea appearing in his mind. The crowd surgd forward in an attempt to touch the stone to get some of its legendary luck or worse, take it for themselves. Poor Fishlegs was overwhelmed and fell to the ground with the crowd still clamouring for the stone.

"That's enough, everyone, stand back!" Stoick's voice rang out loud and clear over the mayhem. The crowd backed away, leaving Fishlegs alone. "Who found this?" Stoick asked. "Uh, right here, chief."Fishlegs piped up as Gobber helped him up. "It's a Stone of Good Fortune." He told his long-time friend.

"We want to touch it!"/ "Let me have it!" Vikings began shouting. "Please, my baby. She needs good fortune." A young mother begged, holding a bundle covered in blankets close to her chest. Tuffnut took a look at the heavily swaddled bundle and grimaced. "That's a baby. I thought it was a bundle of sticks wrapped in bacon." He said. The mother glared at him and moved her baby out of his line of sight.

"Never mind, Tuffnut." Stoick said sternly. "Three yaks for the stone!"/ "Four chickens!" People began yelling out offers. "Twenty sheep and my first-born Gustav." A woman named Mrs Larson offered, holding up her eleven year old son who had black hair and green eyes. "Me, huh?" Gustav asked confused.

"Listen to me! This stone belongs to Fishlegs since he was the one who found it. And what he does with it is up to him." Stoick said. "I'll give you ten yaks."/ "Four chickens."/ "Three chickens." People began throwing offers again. "Maybe we should get you out of here." Hiccup said, leading his dragon-enthusiast friend out of the Great Hall. "Away from these people." Aniu said.

"20 sheep and Gustav Larson? You're turning that down? Come on, what do you want for it?" Snotlout asked in disbelief. "You can't have it, Snotlout, not for any price." Fishlegs said. "Oh, I think I can. You seem to forget that when Snotlout wants something, he just takes it." Snotlout smirked, making a grabbing motion with his hand. "No wonder you get into trouble all the time." Nava remarked.

"How badly do you want it, Snotlout?" Astrid asked harshly. "Bad enough to try and steal it?" Aniu asked, hands on her hips. "You're lucky I don't hit girls." Snotlout scoffed. "Yeah, so are you." Astrid and Aniu, glaring daggers and fireballs at the pompous Jorgenson brat. Snotlout watched his friends leave and made up his mind. "Okay, take it, it is." He said to himself.

* * *

The moon glowed silver in the dark sky as a Night Fury, a Deadly Nadder, a Gronckle and two guardians flew with Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs on the dragons backs to the island where Fishlegs and Meatlug had found the Stone of Good Fortune.

"You sure you want to do this, Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked. As the leader of the Dragoniters (Aniu was the co-leader), he made sure to listen to whatever his Dragoniters had to say or felt about something. Aniu told him that the best and most successful leaders often take their followers feelings, ideas and opinions into account. "There's too much stress. You saw that mob, they ran right over me." Fishlegs said.

"Like a sack of flour." Astrid remarked. "Maybe it is best if you return the stone to where you originally found it and everything will go back to normal." Aniu said, flapping her wings to speed up. "You won't have to worry about villagers trying to take the stone for themselves." Nava added. He and Aniu glanced at each other, shocked at just how in sync they were. Actually, they had been in sync for most of their lives.

"I just want to put this thing back where I found it and never think about it again. Stone of Good Fortune, yeah, right." Fishlegs said. _"That stone seemed to bring us nothing but bad fortune."_ Meatlug said. _"I agree with you, Meatlug. Those people were basically trying to rip it out of your rider's hands."_ Stormfly said. _"I see an island up ahead."_ Toothless said. _"I see it too."_ Meatlug said and shot forward.

"Whoa, girl. Where are you going?" Fishlegs asked his Gronckle. "I think the dragons found the place we're looking for." Aniu said. As they neared the island, an unsettling feeling began to well inside the dragons, causing them to growl and tense up. Aniu and Nava shared a quick glance and prepared themselves for any possible confrontation.

"They sense something." Hiccup said. "Something dangerous." Aniu added. "Hey, I thought you said you found it buried in the sand." Hiccup said. "I did." Fishlegs said. "Then what's that?" Nava asked, pointing up ahead. As the island came into view, they were greeted with an astonishing sight. Clusters of trees were spread along the island and some of them had glowing stones nestled in their branches.

"Are those..." Astrid asked. "Dragon nests." Fishlegs gasped. "Okay, then why would a dragon fill its nest with gems?" Astrid asked. "Because they're not gems." Hiccup realized. "They're dragon eggs." Aniu gasped. "Just like with egg-laying animals, dragons have different ways of making nests and caring for their eggs but their ways are much more unique." Nava said.

"Oh, how did I miss that? The eggs I dug up must have fallen out of its tree and gotten buried in the sand. I can't believe I almost kept this baby away from its parents." Fishlegs exclaimed. "But you didn't. Now, let's put this egg back and get out of here before its parents or some other dragons show up." Hiccup said.

Fishlegs found a tree with dragon eggs in it and gently placed the egg in a branch. Then Toothless sensed something and snarled. _"Something's coming. It could be the parents of the egg."_ He growled. _"I don't think they'll be willing to listen to us if they find us in their territory and near their eggs."_ Stormfly said, her tail spines flicking up.

 _"We should get out of here as quickly as possible."_ Meatlug said. "Guys, something's coming!" Aniu called out to her friends. "The parents must be close." Hiccup said. "Yeah, really close. Fishlegs, say goodbye and let's go." Astrid said. "Okay, okay. Goodbye little colour-changing, glowing dragon egg." Fishlegs said and steered Meatlug away from the tree. "Come on, guys." Nava called, flying through the trees with the other following him.

They hadn't gotten far when the sound of trees falling caught their attention. _"We've got company."_ Toothless growled. _"And I think it's not the friendly kind."_ Stormfly said. _"I hope they don't hurt us."_ Meatlug said. "They're following us!" Hiccup alerted his friends. "Yeah, but what are they?" Astrid asked. "It must be the parents of the egg and some friends." Aniu said. "And they're not happy with us." Nava said. "I don't see anything back there." Fishlegs yelled.

The invisible dragons let out terrifying roars before one of them showed its face for a brief second and spat out a glob of bright green acid that struck a tree trunk and burned through the wood and bark. "Whatever it is, they shooting some kind of acid at us." Hiccup said. "Invisible, acid-shooting dragons? Great." Fishlegs said sarcastically.

"We have to get out of these trees." Aniu yelled. "They probably won't follow us beyond their island." Nava said, folding his wings in and shooting between two trees. Pretty soon, they had flown out of the trees and away from the island, leaving the angry, invisible, acid-shooting dragons behind.

They didn't notice a familiar Viking with an equally familiar Monstrous Nightmare watching them fly away on a sea stack. "Like I said, if I want it, I take it. Haha, suckers." Snotlout chortled. _"I don't think this is good idea."_ Hookfang muttered as he and his rider flew to the island.

* * *

"Sprays hot, burning acid." Fishlegs read in the Book of Dragons the next morning. "Here it is. It's called the Changewing." Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava gathered around him to read the text. "Where are the drawings?" Hiccup asked, noticing the complete lack of any illustration.

"There are none." Fishlegs said. "I guess you can't draw it if you can't see it." Aniu remarked. "Listen to what it says: This remarkable dragon is able to change the colour of its skin and scales to blend in with its surroundings." Fishlegs read. "Does it say anything about eggs?" Astrid asked. "N-no. Those didn't look like dragon eggs, right? If I had see that I never would have gone and stolen..." Fishlegs stammered.

"Fishlegs, calm down. None of us knew." Nava said gently, placing a pale hand on the husky Ingerman's shoulder. "But I should have known." Fishlegs rambled. "All I know is it is a good thing we brought that egg back to its parents. Who knows what they would do if the eggs were on Berk?" Hiccup said before the Great Hall doors opened and the Thorston twins walked inside. Tuffnut was holding a Changewing egg in his hand with a grin on his face.

"Uh, what's that?" Hiccup asked nervously. If there was a stolen Changewing egg on Berk, they could expect an angry Changewing or two to be looking for it soon. "Uh, I don't know. Maybe a lifetime of good luck." Tuffnut said and head butted his sister, knocking Ruffnut over. "I'll take that." Astrid snapped, reaching for the egg. "Over my cold, dead body." Tuffnut said and ran outside. "Where did you get it?" Aniu asked. "We traded for it." Ruffnut yelled as she followed her brother. "Traded with who?" Hiccup asked. "I think I have a pretty good idea." Nava said.

* * *

In front of his house, Snotlout had organized an auction to sell of the what he thought were Stones of Good Fortune to the highest bidder. "All right, all right, all right. Everyone, settle down. I got six yaks and three chickens from the woman with the hook hand. Do I hear seven and four?" Snotlout said.

"Do I hear seven and four?" Gustav, who had volunteered to be Snotlout's personal assistant and was holding up a Changewing egg. "Seven and four, Gustav, from the guy with the bucket on his head. Oh and he's throwing in a matching set of battle axes, how cool." Snotlout said. "Cool!" Gustav exclaimed, eager to get a battle axe of his own.

"Seven and four, plus the axes. Come on, folks. Only one left. Good luck for the rest of your life. Going once, going twice...and sold. Gustav, give Bucket his Stone of Good Fortune." Snotlout said. Gustav ran up to Bucket and gave him the Changewing egg. Crying in delight, Bucket happily ran home with his purchase. "Well, that is it, folks. I only had three stones and I'm all sold out so it's time for me to pack up." Snotlout said. The crowd groaned in disappointment and dispersed.

Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu, Nava and Fishlegs ran up. "Snotlout, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting rich." Snotlout said happily. "You getting rich by selling things you stole." Aniu said. "Trust me, you won't be happy with the consequences of your actions." Nava said."But you can't." Fishlegs told Snotlout.

"I already did. The gems are gone." Snotlout said proudly. "Gone." Gustav confirmed, leaning casually against a yak. "They're not gems. And they certainly don't bring good luck." Hiccup said. "Puh-lease. They're bringing me good luck. I'm up to my neck in weapons and livestock." Snotlout said.

"Snotlout, those are dragon eggs." Astrid said. "And their parents will most likely do anything to get them back." Nava added. "Changewings to be exact." Fishlegs said. "Changewings, shmangewings...I don't care what they are! All I know is that I'm rich and you're not." Snotlout said, leaning against a yak with a gloating smirk. "We're rich and you're not." Gustav grinned, leaning against a sheep.

"Snotlout, listen to me. We need to get those eggs off Berk before something really bad happens." Hiccup said desperately. "Like, for example, the parents of the eggs ripping Berk apart to find their eggs." Aniu said. "Uh, you do not want to separate dragon parents from their eggs especially ones that you can not see and shoots burning acid." Fishlegs chimed in.

"Really? You did." Snotlout pointed out. "That was an accident!" Fishlegs stammered. "Accident, on purpose, rich, poor, who cares? They're gone and I have a no-return policy. Tell them, Gustav." Snotlout said. "No returns." Gustav confirmed, pushing a barrel full of weapons. "Snotlout, you have to give them to us so we can give them back to their parents." Nava implored.

"If you want them, you'll have to take it up with my customers." Snotlout sneered, leading the yak harnessed to a cart full of his loot away. "Oh, it's all my fault." Fishlegs whimpered, stressed and full of guilt. "It's not your fault, Fishlegs." Hiccup consoled him. "You had no idea this was going to happen." Aniu said gently.

"Yes, it is. If I hadn't gone to that island and brought back that egg then Snotlout wouldn't have known where to find them and then we wouldn't be in danger of imminent attack by angry Changewing parents." Fishlegs rambled. Meatlug gave her rider a comforting purr. "When you put it that way, it really is his fault." Astrid said thoughtfully. Hiccup, Aniu and Nava threw her 'not helping' looks.

"Just saying." Astrid said. "Look, it doesn't matter whose fault it is. We just have to find those eggs." Hiccup said.

* * *

On a cliff above a pit filled with old, broken wooden objects and Fireworm dragons, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were eager to see just how much luck and good fortune their 'stone' would grant them. "Okay. When I count to three, shove me really hard into the pit." Tuffnut said, holding the Changewing egg in his hands.

"Uh, are you sure? You remember what one of those things did to you?" Ruffnut asked doubtfully. "Oh, please. I am holding a Stone of Good Fortune. Those skin melting Fireworms won't stand a chance against me." Tuffnut said confidently. "Okay. Thank you, Thor." Ruffnut said and shoved her brother off the cliff.

Tuffnut screamed as he fell and when he close to the Fireworms, something blue swooped out of nowhere and grabbed him. "Hey, what are you doing?" He asked Stormfly's rider. "Saving your skin, literally." Astrid told him. "If we hadn't caught you when we did, you would've been dead or badly burnt." Nava said, flying up beside them.

Stormfly dropped Tuffnut back onto the cliff edge and landed. Nava landed beside her and Astrid got off Stormfly. Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless, Meatlug and Fishlegs were waiting there with Ruffnut. "Guys, that is not a good luck stone. It's a dragon egg." Aniu said. "And its parents are dangerous dragons that can blend in with just about anything and spits hot, burning acid that can melt anything in sight." Hiccup said.

The Thorston twins glanced at each other. "Okay, so, like if a tree for example, was spitting acid and melting everything in sight." Tuffnut said. "You're saying that would be one of these dragons?" Ruffnut asked. "Wow, they got it on the first try." Astrid said in surprise. "Looks like the twins are actually smarter than they look." Nava said. _"But they barely even show it."_ Stormfly added.

"We're not stupid." Ruffnut said, frowning at Astrid and Nava. "At least I'm not and besides, there's one right there." Tuffnut said. Hiccup and Aniu heard two trees fall down, paled and stared at the fallen trees. Toothless got into a battle ready stance and snarled. The outline of a dragon briefly appeared before becoming invisible again.

"Whoa, Changewing." They all gasped. "It's amazing. It really does blend in with its surroundings." Hiccup whispered in awe. "Hiccup, Aniu, quick. Train it so we can keep it and have it spit acid at Ruffnut." Tuffnut grinned. Ruffnut angrily shoved her brother and the Changewing attacked, spitting acid at a boulder which melted.

Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless leapt aside to avoid another acid shot which felled two trees. Then two more Changewings showed up and one of them had it sight set on Tuffnut who was still holding a Changewing egg. "Nice try but as you can see, I am holding the stone of..." Tuffnut managed to say before the Changewing grabbed him and shook him like a rag doll causing Tuffnut to lose his grip on the egg. The Changewing grabbed the egg and flew away with it but not before throwing Tuffnut into a tree.

Having managed to find one egg, the Changewings flew away. But just before they vanished from view, Nava heard one of them say _"We've got one egg now let's get the other eggs."_ His sapphire blue eyes widened in realization."Did you see that?" Hiccup asked in shock. "At least they're gone." Ruffnut sighed in relief. "Um, they're not gone." Hiccup said uneasily. "Something tells me they'll be back." Aniu remarked. "And soon. Really soon." Nava added. "How do you know?" Astrid asked. "Because the Changewings worked together as a team to get that one egg." Fishlegs answered.

"And I heard one of them say they had one egg and they're going to get the other eggs." Nava added. "Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Astrid asked anxiously. "Oh, that's what he's saying. Wait, what are you saying?" Tuffnut asked, a confused expression on his face. "None of the Changewings are going to leave until they have all their eggs." Fishlegs said. "And they are going to tear apart Berk until they find every last one." Hiccup concluded. "We have to do something and that something is gather all the eggs together and give them to the Changewings." Aniu said.

* * *

The three Changewings flew to a small sea stack and landed on it. Five more Changewings appeared. Four of them were males and the other four were females and mates to the males. _"How many eggs did you find?"_ The leader Chameleon asked. _"Just one."_ The Changewing who had grabbed the egg off Tuffnut sighed.

 _"That leaves three eggs still unaccounted for."_ Chameleon's mate sighed. _"If those dirty Vikings have dared to even try and hurt the eggs, I will personally rip them apart and shove their helmets down their throats so they can choke on them."_ A Changewing snapped. _"Calm yourself, Acidrage! Recklessly charging in and attacking the Vikings will make things a lot worse for us and our eggs."_ Chameleon ordered sternly. Acidrage bowed his head in apology.

 _"I have just been scouting around the human village and you won't believe this but there are dragons such as Nadders, Nightmares, Gronckles, Zipplebacks, Terrors roaming around the settlement and the humans are not even attacking them. Rather they were fed fish and playing with them. I even saw two Thunderdrums return from a swim, walk up to this giant of a man and let him pat them."_ Another Changewing exclaimed. _"A Viking village that has made peace with dragons and treating them as friends, I thought such a thing was unlikely to happen."_ Chameleon exclaimed.

 _"But what about our eggs? Dragon friends or not, if they are stealing our eggs, I will not hesitate to attack them."_ Another Changewing said. _"I know, Camowing. But I have a feeling those Vikings do not know what our eggs truly are. I trust my instincts on this."_ Chameleon said. _"And why's that?"_ Camowing asked."I _learned to trust my instincts ever since those hagsfiends attacked me. And my instincts have not failed me ever since then._ " Chameleon growled and shifted her wing, revealing three scars under it. She shuddered as she remembered the hagsfiend's talons cutting through her scales and flesh.

 _"Okay, so what's your plan?"_ Acidrage asked. Chameleon thought for a few minutes then told her fellow Changewings her plan.

* * *

That night in the Haddock house, the teens reported to Stoick, Fengo and Namara what they had learned and seen. "So, what you're telling me is that our village is about to be under siege by wild dragons that we can not see." Stoick said, realizing the severity of the situation. "That pretty much sums it up." Aniu remarked. "They'll most likely be here pretty soon." Nava added.

"Oh, don't forget the hot, burning acid." Tuffnut butted in. Everyone threw him deadpan looks. "What? It was awesome." Tuffnut said lightheartedly. "Well, grab your dragons, then. We'll fight them off." Stoick said. "But, Stoick. They told us that these dragons were just trying to get their eggs back. We can't fight them off for that reason." Namara argued. "I think you kids should find all the eggs and give to the Changewings so they'll fly away and leave us in peace." Fengo said.

"But, Dad. I believe Fengo and Namara are right. No matter what we do, they won't go away unless they have all their eggs." Hiccup said. "They just want their babies. Oh, it's all my fault." Fishlegs moaned miserably. "It wasn't your fault, lad. You didn't know this was going to happen." Fengo comforted him, rubbing Fishlegs's back reassuringly.

"Stoick, I just realized something. They're not Stones of Good Fortune. They're Changewing eggs. I always get those two confused, it's so easy to do so. So, what are you all up to?" Gobber yelled, throwing open the door and running into the house. Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Aniu and Nava stared at him.

"Hiccup, Aniu, what do you suggest we do?" Stoick asked, deciding to give his son and the guardian some responsibility. "I think we should do an village wide evacuation and get the people off the island until we can get the eggs back with their parents and the Changewings have left." Hiccup said. "Hopefully, it's not too late." Aniu added.

"In all the years I've been chief, we have never turned in fear of anything and I'm not about to start now." Stoick said firmly. Then screams were heard from outside. "Care to start now?" Nava asked nervously. Stoick ran outside and saw a bunch of Changewings rampaging through the village. "They brought their mates!" Aniu exclaimed. There were now six Changewings instead of three.

"They're looking for their eggs!" Hiccup yelled, running up to his father. A Changewing melted down a door and chased the couple living inside the house out while its mate checked the contents of a barrel and threw it aside when it didn't find an egg. Stoick uprooted a wooden post from the ground and advanced on a Changewing but it camouflaged itself against a boulder.

"Where did it go?" Stoick asked quietly. "That would be the blending in, can't-see-it-all part." Hiccup said casually. "I see it. I got this, chief." Tuffnut said, walking towards the boulder. "Stay, dragon. I am now your master." He said, holding out his hand and pressing it against the rock. Thinking he had the Changewing, Tuffnut grinned and did a thumbs-up at his friends and chief.

"It's gone, isn't it?" Stoick asked. "Oh, long gone." Hiccup stated the obvious. The Changewings continued running amok through the village. "You and the others find those eggs. We'll handle the Changewings." Stoick told his son. "Make sure not to hurt them, Stoick!" Aniu called over her shoulder as she and the other teens ran off.

A man ran up to Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara. "They're everywhere and they're nowhere. You have to do something, Stoick." He panted. Stoick saw a Changewing camouflage itself against a house and ran at it with his wooden post raised. Gobber grabbed his own wooden post and together, he and Stoick hammered the spot where the Changewing had disappeared while Fengo shot small fireballs at it and Namara used earth magic to try and ensnare the Changewing with vines.

Thinking they had the Changewing, the four adults stopped what they were doing and the house collapsed. The Changewing roared angrily at them and flew away. Stoick, Gobber, Fengo and Namara watched as villagers ran screaming all over the place as the Changewings continued to bring chaos, havoc and destruction throughout the place. The village dragons were trying to help the villagers but weren't having much luck.

"Hiccup and Aniu were right. It's hard to fight what we can't see." Gobber remarked. "To the docks! Everyone, board the ships! We're evacuating the island!" Stoick yelled at the top of his lungs.

Meanwhile, Bucket was completely obvious to what was happening and was taking a stroll throught the village, humming merrily to himself. Then, a Changewing saw the egg Bucket held in his hand and started chasing him through the village. "Somebody help me!" Bucket screamed in terror as he ran.

Astrid flew over him on Stormfly with Nava flying beside her. "Your egg, Bucket! It wants your egg!" Astrid yelled. "What egg?" Bucket screamed. "It wants the stone you're holding in your hand!" Nava yelled. Bucket still didn't understand and hid under a house but the Changewing found him, grabbed the egg and flew away. _"I got an egg!"_ It yelled to its comrades.

At the Great Hall, Gustav's mother Mrs Larson was pushing a small cart that held her baby girl Hildegard and a Changewing egg in front of her and was about to walk down the stairs. "I need your stone, Mrs Larson." Fishlegs said, landing beside her on Meatlug. "But my boy, Gustav. Snotlout said no returns." Mrs Larson said, unwilling to give her 'stone' to Fishlegs until she got her son back.

"We'll get Gustav back. Where's the stone?" Fishlegs asked frantically. Meatlug growled at a Changewing that had appeared right behind them and Mrs Larson backed away in fright, accidently pushing the cart down the stairs. "Ah, my baby!" Mrs Larson screamed in terror as her baby wailed. "We got it!" Fishlegs yelled as Meatlug chased after the cart, intent on saving the baby. The Changewing followed, intent on grabbing the egg.

A second Changewing saw the egg in the cart and chased after it too. Arrow shot tail spines at one Changewing, scaring it away. The cart hit a bump and flung the egg and the baby up into the air. Fishlegs grabbed the baby and cradled her in his arms as the Changewing grabbed the egg and flew away. "Oh, Meatlug. Look at the baby." Fishlegs cooed, showing Hildegard to his Gronckle who grimaced. The baby wasn't exactly...cute. "Baby? Ugh. Maybe Tuffnut was right." Fishlegs mumbled.

At the docks, Vikings ran in a stampede to the ships. Gobber was trying to calm the panicking crowd down. "If you don't calm down, I'll grab you by the scruff of your necks and..." He yelled as the crowd rushed past him, carrying supplies and possessions. "Not helping, Gobber. There's no reason to panic, people." Stoick said, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Dad, stop the evacuation. We've got them all!" Hiccup yelled, flying over on Toothless. "Six Changewings, three eggs, one for each couple." Aniu said, flapping her wings to hover beside Toothless. "The Changewings are gone." Nava said as they landed on the docks. "Then how do you explain that?" Gobber asked, pointing at a platform where two more Changewings had joined the other six.

"There's another egg we have to find." Aniu said. "There are eight of them."Hiccup said. "But only three eggs." Fishlegs said. "They're going for the ship." Astrid realized, noticing the Changewings line of sight was set on a ship getting to leave. "What do they want with the ship?" Gobber asked. "It's not the ship, it's what's on it." Fishlegs said, seeing Snotlout and Gustav standing together on the ship, laughing about something. No doubt, Snotlout had a Changewing egg of his own."Another egg. Can you guys keep the Changewings at bay?"

"What are you going to do?" Hiccup asked. "Something I should have done a long time ago." Fishlegs growled, his normally shy and under-confident demeanor changing into something more braver and outspoken. "Show him no mercy, Fishlegs." Aniu grinned, wings twitching in excitement and anticipation. Hiccup noticed the Changewings getting ready to attack.

"Dad!" He called. "Got it!" Stoick said as he mounted Thornado. Followed by Sonica, Gobber, Fengo and Namara, the Thunderdrum charged at the Changewings, scattering them with a sonic blast. Snotlout and Gustav watched the chaos unfold and didn't notice Fishlegs step up behind them until he spoke.

"Going somewhere, Snotlout?" He asked fiercely. "Who's asking?" Snotlout and Gustav asked as they turned around and saw Fishlegs standing there. Fishlegs glared at Snotlout with an angry expression. "Go find your mother, Gustav." Fishlegs said simply. Gustav let out a sob and ran off to find his mother.

"I can't believe you. I was really starting to like that kid." Snotlout exclaimed. "Give it to me, Snotlout." Fishlegs hissed, holding out his hand. "ha, finally." Snotlout grinned, thinking Fishlegs was asking for a fight. "You know what I mean. Where's the egg?" Fishlegs growled, steadily getting angrier and angrier.

"None of your business. Oh, what are you going to do, Fishlegs?" Snotlout sneered. That made Fishlegs snap, let out a scream and begin clawing through Snotlout's possessions in an attempt to finds the last egg. Snotlout backed away in fear as Fishlegs advanced on him. "Now, you listen to me closely. You can do whatever you want to me, you can threaten me, make fun of me, mock my incredible dragon knowledge but what you will not is stand between a baby dragon and its parents. Do you understand me, Snotlout?" Fishlegs growled.

"It's always the quiet ones that snap the loudest." Bucket said wisely. "I'd give it to him, Snotlout. There's no telling what he's capable of." Mulch said. Meatlug rummaged through Snotlout's possessions, looking for the eggs. "That's it. Keep searching, girl." Fishlegs told her. Meatlug found the egg in a basket and gave it to her rider.

"Hmm, what do you know? There it is. I think I'll just take that. Any objections? Didn't think so. Now, if you'll will excuse me, I have to give this egg back to the Changewings." Fishlegs said, mounting Meatlug. The Gronckle flapped her wings and flew back to the village which looked like a ghost town as Fishlegs walked through it.

Meatlug stayed behind, knowing this was something her rider needed to do alone. "Okay, Changewings. I know you're out there. Come and get me!" Fishlegs called, holding the egg in his hands. He felt something pass by him and backed up to the safety of a house. A glob of acid landed at his feet and Fishlegs looked up to see a Changewing right above him.

The other Changewings surrounded him and one was right in front of him. "And we're all here. Hi, I'm Fishlegs. I've read a lot about you, clearly not enough. Okay, here's how this is going to work. I' going to give you this egg and you're going to take it. And you're going to leave Berk in peace. I promise you if you don't burn me with that hot acid, I will spend the rest of my life making sure no one ever takes your eggs again. Sound good?" Fishlegs asked nervously.

The Changewings considered this, grabbed the egg and left. Fishlegs waited until they had left before saying "well, I guess that's that." and fainting.

* * *

The next morning in the Academy, Hiccup drew a picture of a Changewing into the Book of Dragons and added more information. Aniu sat beside him to lend a helping hand. "I'm telling you, up close and face to face, it was much more ferocious. I'm just saying, one of us was there and two of us weren't. " Fishlegs said as Hiccup finished the drawing.

"You know, Fishlegs..." Aniu started to say. "I do, Aniu. We need to find one so we can studyit." Fishlegs said enthusiastically. "No, so we can train it." Hiccup said, closing the book. "Snotlout, Fishlegs, you're up." Gobber called. "Excuse me. There's something I've been meaning to take of." Fishlegs said. "Unleash the beast, Fish." Aniu cheered.

 **"Having courage isn't the same as having no fear."**

Snotlout and Fishlegs were both holding shields and circling each other. Snotlout gulped and ducked behind his shield, fearing Fishlegs's wrath.

 **"It's being afraid but pushing forward anyway. Whether that means saving a baby dragon, protecting those you love or giving a special someone the butt-kicking they so richly deserve."**

Gobber swung his hook-hand down and Snotlout and Fishlegs charged at each other with their shields raised. If you are wondering who won the match that day it was Fishlegs.

* * *

In a castle far from Berk a young girl of around 15 hummed as she skipped along a corridor and entered a room where a young man of around 19 years old was studying. "Hey, Charlie." The girl greeted her brother. "Hi, Claudria. Fantasying about dragons again are you?" Charlie asked knowingly. "Yeah. I always wondered what it's like to have one as a friend." Claudria sighed. Charlie smiled, knowing how much his sister liked dragons. "Who knows, dearest sister. Maybe, one day, you'll find a dragon who'll be your friend." He chuckled. Claudria smiled and left the room. "Hi, Aurora, Edurna." She greeted her two friends. "Hi, Claudria." Edurna chuckled, snowflakes around her hand. "Where's Charlie?" Aurora asked, her hand glowing with light. "In the library." Claudria said. "Typical." Aurora and Edurna chuckled.

 **School's back on so my updates for my stories will probably be longer. I have watched around forty episodes of Star Wars: the Clone Wars on Netflix and it is really cool. There is a lot of violence (mainly lightsabre fighting, gun battles and explosions). Characters such as Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-wan are really cool.**

 **I went to the cinemas to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens and it was awesome. There were several scenes that made me say 'holy sh**'. It was pretty loud too. Even though I knew what was going to happen (spoiler alert) the way Kylo Ren or Ben killed Han Solo was a complete shocker. I thought for a few seconds that Kylo Ren was going to join his father and then next seond, he stabbed Han through the chest with his lightsabre. Han caressed his face and then fell off the really high up bridge to his death.**

 **Rey was really cool. The way she handled everything made her stand out to me and I felt sorry for all the hardships she went through. I also like her outfit. She was a really good fighter despite not having received any formal training. This makes me want to watch the entire Star Wars franchise now. There was a guy called General Hux in the Force Awakens who reminded me a lot about Adolf Hitler.**

 **I love the Hicstrid pairing so my stories will contain quite a bit of it. There will also be steadily increasing amounts of Aniava (my name for AniuxNava) in my stories as well.**

 **This chapter was thirteen pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 7.02.2016 Australian Time**


	19. We Are Family Part 1

_"Italics: Dragon's speaking"_

 _*Italics: telepathical speaking*_

 _Italics: Thinking_

 **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: The dragon riders ride on their dragons while the guardians such as Aniu and Nava fly using their wings. All dragons with more than one head have a – between their names as each head has a name. For example: Barf-Belch, Lefa-Rila. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragoniters group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf-Belch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **Please read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: We Are Family Part 1**

 **"** **Vikings have a strong sense of community. It's important for us to be a part of family and to celebrate that connection."**

Two Gronckles and their riders carried a banner to the steps in front of the Great Hall. Two Deadly Nadders and two Monstrous Nightmares brought planks of wood to the Vikings who needed them while a Zippleback gave a Viking some tools.

Gobber added the final touches to a statue of Bork riding on a dragon with his sword held up high. "Happy Bork Week, Magnus. And a good Bork Week to you, Seamus." He happily called to a couple of Vikings. "Cheers!" Seamus yelled, raising his mug in celebration. Once he was finished, Gobber got off the scaffolding and smiled at the statue of his ancestor. "Most importantly, a spectacular Bork Week to you, Bork." He said.

Bucket and Mulch walked up to admire the statue. "Best week of the year. Right, Gobber?" Mulch asked. "Right up there with Stump Day." Gobber agreed, toasting his hammer hand prosthetic against Mulch's hook hand. "Aah, the good old days. Brings tears to me eyes. We could use a man like Bork around here." Mildew sighed, approaching the three men.

"Tradition's a fine thing, Mildew. But things have changed...for the better, if you ask me." Gobber said. "I didn't." Mildew muttered, Fungus, his beloved sheep, bleating in agreement. "We have come a long way from the time when it was us or the dragons. You might be a little less crusty if you got used to that, Mildew." Gobber told him. "I'll pass, thanks. When are Bork's archives going on display? You still got that dragon-gutting dagger of his, don't you?" Mildew asked.

"They'll all be in the Great Hall tomorrow. Don't you worry." Gobber said, slightly unnerved by Mildew's love of anything that was used to hurt dragons. Mildew grumbled under his breath as Gobber walked away and went off to do some of his usual complaining about anything in particular.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fengo and Namara happily flew over the village and assisted any Viking in need of help. "Oh, I'm so excited for the celebrations and the Dragon Air parade! I wonder if some Terrible Terrors are going to be a part of it. And our baby girl, Hiccup and Toothless, leading the Dragoniters and dragons through the air in a spectacular show. Doesn't that make you so happy and excited, my love?" Namara gushed.

"Indeed it does, my dearest one. And I heard received a letter from Nava's parents saying they're coming in around three weeks. Nava's going to be so happy to have his parents back. He and Aniu seem to grow closer and closer as time goes by." Fengo said.

"Aniu's grown up so fast, hasn't she?" Namara asked wistfully. "She has. It seems like only yesterday that she was a little girl playing with Nava and waiting for her wings." Fengo sighed, remembering the times when he would read bedtime stories to her before bed, play with her, tickle her and hear her say in her cute voice "I love you, Daddy."

"In fact, I believe our precious daughter and her friends are practicing in the cove right now. Do you wanna take a look and see how they are going?" Fengo asked his wife. "Indeed we shall. Let's go!" Namara said and flew ahead of her husband. Fengo grinned and sped up until he was flying beside her. The two guardians raced each other to the cove...

* * *

where the Dragoniters were indeed practicing. Hiccup cupped his hands around his mouth and let out a dragon call. He waited for his beloved Night Fury to show up. "So that's why you and Aniu brought us out here? To honk into the wind?" Snotlout asked impatiently. "Just wait, Snotlout." Fishlegs told him.

"Dragon calls. Whatever." Snotlout scoffed and with a grin directed at the Thorston twins, he took out one of his Thawfest medals and distracted them with a beam of reflected light. "Really, Snotlout?" Aniu asked. "Uh, guys?" Hiccup asked, seeing how the twins were distracted. "Ha, idiots." Snotlout snickered as their eyes followed the light's path. "Snotlout. Seriously." Hiccup deapanned in a warning tone.

"So stupid. What? It's fun. Oh, fine." Snotlout groaned, pocketing the medal. Ruffnut and Tuffnut snapped out of their daze as the light vanished. "Uh, gone again." Tuffnut muttered in frustration. Sighing, Hiccup did another dragon call. "And nothing. Can we go now?" Snotlout asked impatiently. "Just be patient, Snotlout." Aniu said. "Good things come to those who wait." Nava said. "You were saying?" Astrid asked Snotlout as Toothless landed in the cove and answered Hiccup's call with a roar of his own.

"Fine. I hate to admit it but that was pretty cool." Snotlout conceded, crossing his arms across his chest. "Not as cool as that disappearing, shiny thing. You can never catch it." Tuffnut said. Then Fengo and Namara landed in the cove. "Hello, children. What are you doing?" Namara asked jovially. "Just training and preparing for the upcoming Dragon Air parade. And besides, we're not children anymore." Aniu said.

"You'll always be my child not matter how old you are." Namara said, stroking her daughter's golden-brown hair. "How far have you gotten so far?" Fengo asked the Dragoniters. "Can't tell you. It's a secret. We want it to be a big surprise." Nava said. _"One that will knock your wings off."_ Toothless chuckled.

Hiccup decided to get the show back on the road. "Fishlegs, do you want to show us your dragon call?" He asked. "Thought you would never ask. The call of the Gronckle is as unique as the dragon itself. Raw, guttural and intense. Yet with a subtle lilt." Fishlegs said. "Just do it already." Snotlout snapped impatiently.

Fishlegs unleashed his Gronckle call, which sounded pretty much like he said it would. Meatlug, Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie flew over the cove and hovered. "Well done, Fishlegs." Aniu said, impressed. "That deserves an A." Namara remarked. "Oh, I'm not done. Watch this." Fishlegs said and let out another Gronckle call.

"I don't even want to know which part of his body that came from." Tuffnut muttered with a grimace. Fishlegs ended his dragon call and gasped for breath. "I gotta take a break." He panted. A herd of around seven Gronckles flew overhead, responding to the call. "Wow. Nice herd." Tuffnut remarked. Meatlug, Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie flew up to join their fellow Gronckles. "Be home for dinner. You guys are having granite. That's their favourite." Fishlegs called after them, directing the last sentence at his friends.

"Okay. Anyone think they can beat that?" Hiccup asked. "I'll give it a shot. Watch this." Astrid volunteered and let out a Deadly Nadder call. Arrow, Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet flew overhead, followed by a herd of several Nadders. Stormfly woke up from a nap she was taking on a tree branch, squawked and flew up to join her family and fellow Deadly Nadders.

"Good job, Astrid. First try." Hiccup praised his girlfriend, smiling happily at her. "She's got a lot of skill and talent at this sort of stuff." Nava said. "That reminds of the wolves of Guardian Island." Aniu said. "Ah, the wolves. I miss those guys." Fengo sighed. "You and Nava used to play with Faolan and Edme." Namara said. "Uh, I have an important question." Tuffnut piped up. "Is it actually important this time?" Aniu asked him. "Uh, yeah. It always is. Like, why are we even doing this anyway? I don't get it." Tuffnut asked.

"Well, first of all, you never know when you're going to be separated from your dragon and the only way to communicate is to call it." Hiccup told him. "It's much safer than calling out your dragon's name. If you are in hostile or unknown territory, a dragon call will just be a dragon call to any non-dragon ears. But your dragon will most likely be able to tell the difference between your call and other dragon's call and thus be able to find you." Aniu said. "Sorry. Didn't get it." Tuffnut said, confused.

"Second of all, it's Bork Week and my dad asked us to put on a Dragon Air Parade." Hiccup said. "Why do we care about this Bork guy anyway? Wasn't he a dragon killer?" Ruffnut questioned. "Hey, Bork only killed dragons in self defence. He studied them and wrote about them." Fishlegs said. "And without him, there'd be no Book of Dragons." Nava said. "And without the Book of Dragons, there'd be..." Fishlegs began.

"No reason for you to live?" Snotlout asked with a snigger. "Dragon Academy, actually. And there'd be no really cool Dragon Air Parade." Hiccup said. "So, when we do this really cool Dragon Air show, who's he going to fly with?" Snotlout asked, gesturing at Toothless who gave his rider a meaningful look.

"I'm working on that." Hiccup sighed. "Maybe you should build him another one of those automatic tailfins like the one you gave to him during Snoggletog last year. Too bad he bashed it up." Aniu suggested.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gobber was searching through the blacksmith shop for Bork's archives. To pass the time, he decided to sing a little song which went like this:

"Bork, oh, Bork,

We sing your song

The man who studied dragons long

Without your work

There'd be no Berk

Woes the day you went Berserk"

Then, he finally found what he was looking for. "Ahahaha, gotcha!" The blond blacksmith exclaimed in triumph, grabbing the chest and blowing dust off it. Gobber slid down his ladder and came face to face with..."Aaah, Mildew! You don't sneak up on a man with a hook for a hand!" Gobber scolded the old coot. "Yeah, but I got an emergency. My wheel snapped just as we were coming into town. My cabbage is all over the road." Mildew said desperately.

"Can't it wait, Mildew? I've got to get these archives over to the Great Hall." Gobber said, pushing past the old man. "But my cabbage, Gobber! Whatever happened to customer service?" Mildew asked. Sighing, Gobber gave in and put the archives on a bench. "All right." He muttered, walking out of the forge. Mildew turned to stare at the archives and hummed thoughtfully. He was reaching out to grab them when Gobber reappeared. "You touch those archives and I'll make sure you'll never be able to touch anything ever again." He threatened, walking away again. But Mildew eyed the archives thoughtfully, an evil forming in his head. And that plot involved a certain brown-haired, green eyed, one-footed boy who rode a Night Fury and his golden-brown-haired, green-eyed guardian friend.

* * *

Once they finished up in the cove, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless stood on a ledge, watching dragons flying around the village. "If only there were more Night Furies out there, you two. What a sight that will be. And Toothless will have more of his own breed with him so he won't be alone anymore." Aniu sighed wistfully. "I wish there were more Night Furies here on this island, bud." Hiccup told Toothless. _"Don't worry, I'm happy with you guys."_ The young Night Fury told them.

Then, Astrid, Stormfly and Nava came in for a landing. "There you guys are." Nava chirped. "Hey, check out my Nadders, I finally got them flying in perfect formation. A group of Deadly Nadders flew overhead in a V-formation. Arrow flew at the point with Skyflier and Forestflier on each side while Violet flew behind her father.

"That's pretty good. A+" Aniu said genuinely, trying to sound happy but failing. "Wow, yeah. That's great." Hiccup said, still feeling upset at the lack of Night Fury companions for Toothless. "Hiccup, what's wrong?" Astrid asked in concern, noticing the tone in her boyfriend's voice. "Is something upsetting you?" Nava asked in a worried voice.

"I just been thinking. Stormfly has Arrow, Skyflier, Forestflier, Violet and a lot of other Nadders. Hookfang has Firesnow, Ignitis, Infernia and a whole herd of Monstrous Nightmares. Meatlug has Clobbertail, Stonecruncher, Sweetiepie and a big group of Gronckles. Barf- Belch has Lefa-Rila, Boomer-Banger and a whole bunch of Hideous Zipplebacks and Toothless has no one." Hiccup said. "He has you and he looks pretty happy if you ask me." Astrid said, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "If the way he's rolling around in the grass is any indication." Nava chuckled, looping an arm and a wing around Aniu's shoulders. Aniu leaned her head on Nava's shoulder.

"You know what I mean." Hiccup sighed. "Hiccup, Aniu, Toothless will be fine. Oh, I almost forgot, Stoick, Fengo and Namara are looking for you. They want to see you in the Great Hall. They looked serious." Astrid said, walking away from them and getting onto Stormfly's back. The blue Deadly Nadder flew away. "See you guys later. Aniu, do you still wanna go on that date?" Nava asked, walking away from them and spreading his wings open to fly. "I'll be there once Hiccup and I find out what they want from us in the Great Hall. Love you, Nava." Aniu told her boyfriend. "Love you too, Ni." Nava said and flew away.

Aniu smiled and went back to staring at the sky then she noticed Hiccup staring at her. "What?" She asked. "Nothing. I just want to know what you and Nava do on your dates and alone times." Hiccup said innocently. "None of your business. But if you must know, we just talk to each other, cuddle up, share a few kisses every now and then. Sometimes, we even race each other by running in our human, wolf or dragon forms or flying in our human, dragon and owl forms. And there are times when we duel against each other." Aniu told him.

Hiccup nodded and then remembered what Astrid told him. "Ah, great. Happy Bork Week to me." He muttered. "Let's go." Aniu sighed.

* * *

When Hiccup and Aniu enetered the Great Hall, they found Stoick, Gobber, Fengo, Namara as well as several other Vikings gathered around the main table. Slowly, the two teens approached them. "Mum, Dad, what's going on?" Aniu asked nervously. "Okay, this is getting weird." Hiccup said. "Hiccup, Aniu, come forward and hold out your hands." Stoick ordered.

"Uh, Dad, Gobber, Fengo, Namara and other scary looking Vikings. Aniu and I would just like to say, in our own defence that we cannot control Snotlout, Ruffnut or Tuffnut 24/ 7." Hiccup said. "Those guys never listen to us." Aniu added. "This isn't about those jokers, you two. It's something really good." Gobber said.

"Now then, Hiccup and Aniu, as you two know, Bork Week has begun. The first one since we made peace with the dragons thanks to you and Toothless. So it has been decided that from this moment forward, all things dragon-related, including Bork's life work, shall be entrusted to you and the Academy." Stoick said. Hiccup and Aniu's eyes widened in awe.

Gobber placed a chest on the table. "This is where the Book of Dragons started. Everything he ever wrote on the subject is in these notes. Personal thoughts, feelings, fears, even some delicious recipes." Gobber said, taking a pile of books and scrolls out of the chest. "Whoa. I don't know what to say." Hiccup gasped. "Thank you. It's an honour to be entrusted with these." Aniu said gratefully.

"Hiccup, Aniu, this is a big part of our history. You and the dragons are a big part of our future. It's now up to you to take care of both." Stoick said, placing his hands on Hiccup and Aniu's shoulders. "This is a big responsibility. You sure you two can handle it?" Fengo asked. "We will, Dad." Aniu said. "If you two need any help, come to us." Namara said, smiling. "We will, Mum." Aniu said, giving her parents a hug.

Gobber put the scrolls and books back into the chest, closed the lid and held the chest out to Hiccup and Aniu. But when the two teens tried to take it, parting with the chest and its contents was rather hard for Gobber and so he kept a firm grip on it. "Oh, Gobber, just let it go." Fengo sighed. "Gobber." Stoick told his friend sternly. Finally, Gobber let go of the chest and gave it to Hiccup and Aniu.

"They're yours now." Gobber smiled, tearing up slightly. "Take good care of them." Namara told them. Smiling, Hiccup and Aniu left the Great Hall. "Hey, Mum, Dad, can I sleep over at Hiccup's house so I can read the archives with him tonight?" Aniu asked before she left. "Of course, dear." Namara said. "Just don't stay up too late." Fengo said. "I'll get you a bed ready." Hiccup told his surrogate sister. "Nah, I'll just sleep on the rafters in my owl form or curl up on the ground in my wolf form." Aniu said.

* * *

Once they put the chest on Hiccup's desk in his room, Hiccup left to spend some time with Astrid while Aniu flew to find Nava for their date. She found him sitting in a clearing reading a book. Grinning mischievously, Aniu landed and snuck up on her boyfriend but Nava heard her coming. "I know you're there, Ni." He said. "Oh, darn. How?" Aniu asked.

"You used to sneak up on me a lot when we were younger." Nava smiled. "Alright. So, what are you reading?" Aniu asked, sitting beside him. Nava showed her the book he was reading. "Guardians of Gahoole: The Rise of a Legend." Aniu read out aloud then read the page Nava was on.

 _Page 218:_

 _From our vantage point, we could see that Moss was about to wilf, but he fought it hard. The two Great Grays were looking stunned, as well as the Eagle Owl. They obviously understood the coded language, but the two Great Horned Owls did not, nor did the snow leopards. Except for this first small slip, Moss was doing a fantastic job of concealing his shock. The Snowy, my friend from earliest childhood, stayed as cool as any battle veteran._

 _In the spoken code, Blix told Moss where we were hiding. We could not hear the entire conversation for the wind was up again, drowning out many of the words. But it appeared that Moss called a halt to training for the night, though dawn- or the virtual dawn- was still some hours away and then set up a guard rotation for the night._

 _"_ _It's all right." Loki whispered to me. "We outnumber them."_

 _"_ _They're twice our size! And they could call in other owls, other enemy troops. There could be other Ice Talon owls holed up all over this place. Remember that peregrine your mum mentioned flying around? We could be outnumbered."_

 _From our sequestered perch, we could see that every creature, both owls and snow leopards, were extremely nervous that evening and ready for anything but sleep. Blix pretended to sleep in a small notch in some rocks. As dawn neared, I spied Half Beak rouse himself, swivel his head about slowly as if checking that his comrades were asleep and loft into flight. He flew straight out toward the Bitter Sea, quite far out and when he returned, he wasn't alone._

Aniu finished reading and leaned back. "So what were you and Hiccup needed for in the Great Hall?" Nava asked, book marking the page with a leaf, closing the book and putting it on the ground beside him. "Well, at first Hiccup and I thought we were in trouble but they told us we weren't and they gave us Bork's archives." Aniu said happily. "That's amazing. It's only natural the archives went to you and Hiccup because you two are the leaders of the Dragoniters and the Dragon Academy." Nava said, giving his girlfriend a hug.

"I know, right. Hiccup and I are going to read them tonight and after that, we'll share them with you, Astrid and probably even Fishlegs." Aniu said. "Well, it's only an hour or two until night time so what do you want to do now?" Nava asked. "I can think of a little something." Aniu grinned and kissed Nava on the lips. Nava kissed her back and lay on the ground with Aniu on top of him. Once they finished kissing, Aniu and Nava cuddled up together and talked about random things.

When the sun was low in the sky, Aniu and Nava parted from their cuddle and began walking home. They hadn't gotten far when Nava turned into his wolf form. "Hey, Ni. Wanna race?" He asked. "I think I might so I can whoop your tail." Aniu grinned and turned into her wolf form. "Three, two, one, go!" Nava counted down and started running. Aniu took off at the same time he did and the two guardians raced each other back to the village to have dinner in the Great Hall with their fellow Dragoniters.

* * *

That night, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless were in Hiccup's room reading Bork's archives with some candles to give them light. Aniu had used light magic to create several balls of light to hover above them like tiny suns. "Wow, look at this, guys. It's amazing." Hiccup gasped. "It sure is. By the gods, Bork must have spent a long time studying dragons. There's information that hasn't been included in the Book of Dragons." Aniu whispered, gazing at the pages. _"Let me know when you find something interesting."_ Toothless yawned, retracting his teeth back into his gums and lying down on his stone bed to sleep.

"We will, Toothless." Aniu said as Hiccup put the pages and picked up a book. "These are his personal notes. Everything he observed about dragons is right here in these pages...along with some rather interesting sketches of his neighbours (shudders). Can't unsee that." Hiccup said, flicking through the pages. "We betted erase those pictures from our memories." Aniu said.

Hiccup noticed something in the back of the book, pulled out some folded up papers and unfolded them. "This is all on the Night Fury. It's all about you, Toothless." Hiccup gasped in amazement. _"Is it really?"_ Toothless asked. "Bork didn't put any of this into the Book of Dragons. Maybe he didn't want everyone who read it to know about the Night Furies." Aniu said.

"'My studies lead me to conclude that an entire island exists teaming with mysterious Night Furies. I call this land the Isle of Night.' An island filled with Night Furies." Hiccup gasped, his heart filling with hope. _"Did you just say an island filled with more Night Furies?"_ Toothless asked, his forest green eyes lighting up with hope. "That's what the papers say, Toothless. You know what this means: we're gonna find more Night Furies, you won't be alone anymore and we might even find your family and probably even a girlfriend for you. " Aniu gushed, giving the Night Fury a big hug around the neck.

 _"_ _I can't wait! Ever since the Red Death took my memories to make me and the other dragons better slaves I don't even remember any other Night Furies I might have known, where we lived or anything."_ Toothless gasped. "I wish there was a way we could recover your memories." Aniu told him. _"_ _There are rare times when I get brief flashes but I can't remember them after that."_ Toothless said. Despite only being to understand what Aniu was saying, Hiccup listened to her and Toothless's conversation with a big smile on his face.

He waited for his friends to finish their conversation before speaking up. "Toothless, we have to find that island. If we do, we find your family." He said, giving his Night Fury a hug. "We'll head out in the morning with the others." Aniu said.

* * *

The next morning, the Dragoniters headed out. As they flew, Stormfly flew closer to Toothless. _"How do you feel about finding more Night Furies?"_ She asked. _"_ _I feel so happy and excited. I always wondered what happened to my family."_ Toothless said. _"_ _Just wait til you have a mate and hatchlings like us. I'll make sure to hatchling-sit them like what you sometimes for our hatchlings."_ Meatlug said. _"_ _I wonder what having more Night Furies on Berk will be like."_ Hookfang said thoughtfully. _"_ _Yeah, me too."_ Toothless said. _"_ _My fine brother-head and I want to know how good Night Furies are at blowing stuff up."_ Barf said. _"_ _Judging by how you defeated the Red Death, I think Night Furies can be really destructive when they want to be."_ Belch added.

While the dragons were talking, their riders and Aniu and Nava were having a discussion of their own. "So, let me get this straight. To find this island, we have to find Bork's cave?" Snotlout asked. "His last known place of residence." Fishlegs said. "Who would live in a cave?" Astrid asked. "Who wouldn't?" Tuffnut questioned with a grin. "Whatever reason Bork had for living in a cave, there must be something in it that can lead us to the Isle of Night." Aniu said.

"There must be something in there about the Isle of Night and where we can find it." Nava agreed with his girlfriend. "Bork's notes said his cave is cut into the mountains above Odin's Shield." Fishlegs informed the group. Then Hiccup saw an opening in the cliff wall. "Right there. That must be it." He said, pointing at it.

The Dragoniters landed on a ledge and got ready to search. "Um, so, wait. How do we know what we're looking for?" Tuffnut asked dumbly. "It's a cave. Look for a big hole in the side of a mountain." Astrid said. "Hole, check." Tuffnut said. "Mountain, on it." Ruffnut said. Sighing in disbelief at the twins stupidity, Astrid turned to Hiccup, Aniu and Nava. "You know, we don't have to bring them every time." She said. "Believe it or not, they're a valuable part of the team despite their stupidity." Aniu said. "And plus, their stupidity provides comedy and gives us a laugh every now and then." Nava added.

Suddenly, a loud, long, low-pitched dragon call echoed throughout the area, causing the Dragoniters to rear up in surprise. But when all heads turned to the source of the sound, it was just Snotlout up to his old tricks again. "What in the world was that?" Fishlegs asked the Monstrous Nightmare rider. "That is a Changewing call, my friend. I'm surprised you didn't know that." Snotlout said proudly.

"I would've if it sounded like one. This is a Changewing call." Fishlegs retorted before letting loose a dragon call that sounded like a scream. "I bet you can't do a Thunderdrum." Snotlout scoffed. "Puh-lease, at least challenge me. I've been hearing Thornado and Sonica let out Thunderdrum calls ever since they made Berk their home." Fishlegs retorted and after clearing his throat, let out a bellowing growl that made everyone cover their ears.

"Fishlegs, quit it!"

"Ow, my ears!"

"Stop it, stop!"

"Ow, you sound terrible!"

"Okay, that's enough!"

"We don't need any more dragon calls now!"

"We heard enough! Can you please stop it!"

Hearing everyone's please, Fishlegs ended his dragon call and giggled. The Dragoniters began their searching until Hiccup saw a cave several metres away. "Hey, I found an opening!" He yelled. They all decided to approach it on foot. "That Bork was a dweeb. But boy, he could climb like a mountain goat." Snotlout remarked. Then another dragon call was heard. "Fishlegs, I thought we agreed to ease up on the dragon calls." Aniu said. "Actually, that wasn't me. Mine's far more authentic." Fishlegs told her.

Then Hiccup and Aniu looked up and saw a violet Thunderdrum headed their way. "You wanna tell that to him?" Astrid asked sarcastically. "That dragon looks like it's not in the mood for talking." Nava said. "Head for the cave!" Hiccup yelled. The Dragoniters flew to the cave which had mysteriously disappeared. "Wait. What cave?" Ruffnut asked. "We just saw it. There was a hole." Astrid exclaimed. "Yeah and now the hole's gone." Tuffnut said. "How does a cave suddenly vanish into thin air unless there was magic involved?" Nava wondered out loud.

The Thunderdrum flew straight at them. "Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff, you guys look for the cave opening. The rest of us will lure the Thunderdrum away." Hiccup said. Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Aniu and Nava flew up to confront the Tidal class dragon while Snotlout and the twins tried to find the cave entrance. "Fishlegs, Thunderdrum call!" Hiccup ordered.

"You should make up your mind." Fishlegs said and began exercising his vocal chords to warm them up. "Fishlegs!" Aniu yelled. The Ingerman boy let out a Thunderdrum call and the dragon took the bait, chasing after Fishlegs and Meatlug who screamed. The female Gronckle began flying as fast as her wings could carry her while the Thunderdrum chased them.

Meanwhile, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were having no luck in finding the cave even after the twins headbutted the wall in an attempt to find it. They only succeeded in knocking themselves out. "It was right here. I swear it was." Snotlout muttered and began hammering his fists against the wall.

A Changewing appeared out of thin air, grabbed Snotlout and flew to a higher sea stack. "Hey! Put me down! Hookfang!" Snotlout shrieked, terrified. Hookfang flew to his rider's rescue. "Way to go, Hookfang!" Snotlout cheered his dragon on. The Monstrous Nightmare spat fire at the Changewing. "Go away, Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled, narrowly avoiding the fire. Hookfang growled and flew away.

"Go see what you can find!" Astrid yelled as Fishlegs and Meatlug were chased around by the Thunderdrum. "We'll keep this guy busy." Nava said as he and Stormfly flew up to help Fishlegs and his Gronckle. "What about Snotlout?" Hiccup asked, pointing at the struggling Viking hanging by his vest from the Changewing's jaws.

"Ruff! Tuff!" Astrid yelled as Stormfly hovered over the twins. "On it!" Ruffnut said as she and her brother ran to Barf-Belch. "You're giving me the twins?" Snotlout yelled in dismay before the Changewing started smacking him into the rock wall. "Okay, I'll take the twins!" Snotlout yelled. "Go!" Astrid yelled at Hiccup and Aniu who went into the cave with Toothless.

"Be careful, guys." Hiccup said. The three of them reached a part of a cave that looked like someone had lived there a long time ago. "Bork's cave. This is it. We have to hurry." Hiccup said. "Well, let's get to it." Aniu said. Toothless crooned in agreement.

* * *

Outside the cave, the Thunderdrum smashed rock pillar after rock pillar into its attempts to get Fishlegs and Meatlug. When the big mouthed, Tidal class dragon had the pair trapped, Astrid and Nava used Thunderdrum calls to get it to chase after them. "Thank you. If I survive, I can help you fine tune that call." Fishlegs yelled after his friends in relief.

"Oh, here's an idea. We could blast him out." Tuffnut said as he watched Snotlout struggle against the Changewing. "Yeah, let's blast him!" Ruffnut agreed enthusiastically. "What? No! No blasting! Blasting's bad! Blasting hurts! Long way down!" Snotlout panicked as a cloud of green gas drifted closer. Belch ignited it with sparks, creating an explosion that made the Changewing fly to a higher and safer sea stack.

"Much better, thank you." Snotlout said sarcastically.

* * *

"There's gotta be something here." Hiccup said as he and Aniu looked around the place. Toothless saw a fire pit and lit it up, spreading light throughout the cave. "Thanks, Toothless. You're the best." Hiccup smiled at his dragon. "What would we do without you?" Aniu asked with a smile. _"That's right. I am the best."_ Toothless grinned smugly, raising his head proudly. "Don't let it get to your head, bud. We don't wanna deal with an arrogant, egomaniacal Night Fury." Aniu said. Toothless pouted at her.

Then Hiccup noticed something on the wall. "What is that? Toothless, Aniu, it's a map to the Isle of Night. We found it! Okay, I gotta draw this down." He said and began copying down the map into his notebook. "It looks like the Isle of Night is not far away." Aniu said. Hiccup had nearly finished his drawing when the entire cave suddenly shook. "What was that?" He asked nervously. "It doesn't sound good." Aniu said anxiously.

Outside the cave, the Thunderdrum let out another sonic blast which hit the cave as it chased Astrid, Stormfly, Nava, Fishlegs and Meatlug around. Inside the cave, the rock that the map had been drawn onto started to collapse. "No, no, no, no, no. We need more time." Hiccup said, desperately scribbling the map down into his notebook. "Hiccup, hurry up." Aniu said desperately. Toothless shielded Hiccup and Aniu from falling boulders with his wings but one big boulder landed on his wing causing him to yelp. "That's it. We have to get out of here." Hiccup said as he finished the drawing and jumped onto Toothless's back.

"Let's go." Aniu said, preparing to fly out but another blast from the Thunderdrum caused boulders to fall down and block the entrance. "Hiccup and Aniu are trapped!" Astrid and Nava yelled. "I'm in a tight spot here myself." Snotlout whimpered as the Changewing held him by the leg with its tail. "I know you think our plan didn't work, but believe me, this Changewing played into our hands." Tuffnut hollered nonchalantly.

"Sorry...didn't believe you...ugh, stupid dragon, ahh!" Snotlout screamed as the Changewing dropped him, caught him and repeated. When the Changewing did it again, Snotlout punched it in the jaw, causing the Mystery Class dragon to glare at him. "Oh no." Snotlout gulped.

Inside the cave, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless decided they could use some help right about now. With the entrance blocked, they were basically trapped. "Well, this is just great. We're trapped and Toothless can't use his plasma blasts without bringing the whole ceiling down. Neither can you, Aniu." Hiccup said. "You'd think we're used to these life-and-death situations by now, but they just keep on coming and I'm sick of it." Aniu muttered.

Then Toothless got an idea and roared. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What was that, bud?" Hiccup asked him. The Night fury's ear plates perked up. _"Aniu, get Hiccup onto my back now."_ He said. "All right. Hiccup, Toothless wants you on his back." Aniu said. Hiccup nodded and mounted Toothless who let out another roar. This time, the roar was accompanied by a bright blue light. _"_ _Come on, Ni!"_ Toothless yelled and raced after the light with Aniu following him.

"Okay, where are you going and how are you seeing?" Hiccup asked. Sunlight appeared at the end of the cave and Toothless and Aniu flew out of the cave and into the sky. "Yes! We got it. Thanks, guys." Hiccup whooped as they flew off to help their friends. Astrid, Stormfly, Nava, Fishlegs and Meatlug had backed the Thunderdrum onto a cliff edge when Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless showed up.

"Somebody call for back up?" Aniu asked. "Hiccup, Aniu, you made it." Astrid exclaimed joyously. "We were starting to think you were trapped or worse." Nava exclaimed. "How did you get out of there?" Fishlegs asked as Meatlug spat another lava blast at the Thunderdrum. "Please don't ask us how cause we have no idea." Hiccup said. "We got this. Go help Snotlout." Astrid said.

Snotlout was not having a good time because the Changewing had hugged him to its chest and was trying to feed to feed him grass. "Aw, you made a new friend." Hiccup said, trying not to laugh. "How cute." Aniu cooed. "It's not as friendly as it looks." Snotlout whimpered, trying to stop the Changewing from nuzzling him.

Flying over to the Changewing, Toothless fired a warning shot and the Mystery Class dragon fled. Snotlout fell and Hookfang flew up to catch his rider. "Now that's how you rescue somebody." Snotlout whooped as his Monstrous Nightmare carried him away. "Hey, everything went exactly as we planned." Tuffnut said defensively. "Yeah, keep the Changewing busy until Hiccup and Aniu show up." Ruffnut said as she and her brother high-fived.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, you two." Aniu said. "Now, let's saddle up. We're going home." Nava said. "I still can't believe you guys survived that cave-in." Astrid said as they flew home. "Neither can I. I mean, it was all Toothless. He sent out this weird sound, it bounced back towards us and somehow he used it to found his way out." Hiccup said.

"I don't get it. How do you use sound to guide you?" Fishlegs asked. "I do it all the time. Whenever I hear your voice, I go the other way." Snotlout said. "I believe that what Toothless uses is called echolocation. Animals such as bats use it to find their way around caves, tunnels and other dark caves when they can't see. I learned that at Guardian School back on Guardian Island." Aniu said. _"I'm not a bat. I'm a dragon. A Night Fury to be exact."_ Toothless said proudly.

"So, did you find anything?" Nava asked. "Only a map to the Isle of Night." Hiccup said proudly. "Nice! When do we leave?" Astrid asked. "First thing in the morning." Aniu said. "By this time tomorrow, you are going to be surrounded by Night Fury friends." Hiccup told his dragon. _"I can't wait!"_ Toothless exclaimed, shooting a plasma blast into the sky in joy and excitement.

* * *

The next morning before dawn, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless got up early to make a copy of the map and plan out their trip. Then they found something that could very well serve as a warning. "It says there's a reason why there's only Night Furies on that island. It turns out that you guys aren't so friendly to other dragons." Hiccup told Toothless who crooned in confusion. "But Toothless has always been friendly with the other dragons on Berk." Aniu said, feeling very confused.

"'Herds of Night Furies can be extremely hostile to other species.' If the others come with us on their dragons...well, looks like it's just us." Hiccup said and after he and Aniu packed some food, water and supplies went outside with Toothless and prepared to fly off. "Well, this is it, Toothless. You're finally going to see you're not the only Night Fury anymore." Hiccup told Toothless, stroking his ear plates.

The Night Fury crooned and flew into the lightening sky with Hiccup on his back and Aniu flying beside him. "Next stop: The Isle of Night." Hiccup and Aniu said together as the sun slowly rose and they left Berk behind. **12**

When the sun had fully risen, the other Dragoniters had gathered in the Academy, waiting for their leaders to arrive. "Where's Hiccup and Aniu?" Fishlegs wondered out loud. "It is morning, right?" Tuffnut asked. "They wouldn't...would they?" Astrid asked. "Oh, they would if the information said something about Night Furies only accepting certain dragons." Nava said, not knowing how close he was to getting it right.

Astrid, Nava and Stormfly glanced at each other and decided to go to Hiccup and Aniu's houses. When Astrid went inside the Haddock house, she found Stoick sitting in his favourite chair and carving out a wooden duck. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir." Astrid said apologetically. "It's not a problem, Astrid. Just doing my morning woodwork. It's quite relaxing." Stoick said. "Um, have you seen Hiccup?" Astrid asked.

"I woke up and he was already gone with Toothless. Should I tell him you're looking for him?" Stoick asked. "How about I just leave him a note in his room." Astrid suggested. "Uh, well, be my guest." Stoick said. Astrid went up the stairs to Hiccup's room.

Meanwhile Nava went to Aniu's house in which Fengo and Namara were having breakfast. "Um, have either of you two seen Aniu?" He asked. "We woke up this morning and she was gone." Fengo said. "Maybe she has just gone out for a flight and forgotten the time, I hope." Namara added. "Well, yesterday, we found out about an island and we were going to look for it today but she, Hiccup and Toothless haven't shown up yet." Nava said, his wings twitching and bristling in anxiety.

Fengo and Namara glanced at each other with concerned looks on their faces. "Aniu's a good fighter but what if she was attacked by a whole group of Outcasts and there were too many of them." Namara whispered, her wings bristling and twitching in anxiety. "If those monsters have dared to hurt my daughter, I'm gonna make them wish they were never born." Fengo hissed, a ball of fire forming in his hand. "I better rejoin with the other Dragoniters now. I'll see you later." Nava said and walked outside to where Fishlegs and Meatlug were waiting for him and Astrid who had just walked out of the Haddock house.

"Hiccup must have copied the map from his notebook, fortunately." Astrid said, holding up Hiccup's journal. "Yes!" Fishlegs whooped. "Let's get the others." Nava said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu had arrived at their destination: The Isle of Night. The island was mainly rocky with some trees and patches of grass spread around. "Relax, bud. Trust me. If this map is right, you're gonna like what we find here." Hiccup said. "We're very close to the Night Furies. Perhaps, they're further inland." Aniu said.

The three of them looked around for any sign of a Night Fury then they arrived at a ledge. "Are you ready? Okay, here goes." Hiccup said and unleashed a Night Fury call which echoed around the area. A distant Night Fury answered it. "I can't believe it." Hiccup and Aniu gasped. "Did you hear that?" Hiccup asked his dragon excitedly. Toothless crooned in equal excitement.

Then the distant shape of a Night Fury came out from behind a boulder. "Bork was right. Go get them, Toothless." Hiccup said happily, dismounting his Night Fury. "Go introduce yourself." Aniu nearly squealed in excitement. "It's okay. Go, go. We're right behind you." Hiccup said when Toothless glanced back at them. "Every step and wingbeat of the way." Aniu said. Gathering his courage and steeling his excitement, Toothless slowly approached the Night Fury who didn't move.

Hiccup and Aniu followed behind Toothless but they began to get the feeling that something was wrong. "That's weird, only one Night Fury showed up. There should be more. Where are the others?" Aniu asked anxiously."Something's not right. Toothless, come back!" Hiccup called desperately. Toothless turned to go back to his rider and guardian friend but bolas flew out of nowhere and captured him.

"Toothless, no!" Hiccup and Aniu screamed, running forward but they were grabbed by two Outcasts. More Outcasts came and tied up Toothless who was roaring in outrage. Then, with a gloating, smug smirk on his dirty, scarred face, Alvin the Treacherous strode forward, revealing himself to Hiccup and Aniu. "Alvin." Hiccup and Aniu hissed, glaring at the brutish leader of the Outcasts.

Two Outcasts walked by, wheeling a life-like dummy of a Night Fury behind them. "Amazingly realistic, wouldn't you say, Hiccup and Aniu?" Alvin asked, smirking at the captured teens. Toothless roared, struggling against the ropes, chains and metal bars holding him."Let go of him!" Hiccup yelled. "If you dare hurt Hiccup or Toothless, I will kill you and grind your bones into dust!" Aniu shouted.

"What do you want?" Hiccup demanded to know furiously. "I want me own Dragon Trainer and his guardian friend. And by the looks of it, I've got them." Alvin said. Savage stood behind his leader, holding a large horn in his hands and smirking. "We are not going to train dragons for you, Alvin." Hiccup hissed. "And I am not going to be your weapon." Aniu growled.

"Oh, I think you will. And once you have, I'll use my dragons to destroy Berk." Alvin sneered. "We will never let you destroy Berk as long as any of us live." Aniu snarled. "Take them." Alvin ordered, ignoring her threat. Before he and Aniu were taken away, Hiccup had one more question to ask "I don't understand. How did you do this?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back on Berk, Gobber hammered on Mildew's door with his fist. "Mildew, open up. I got your wheel and she's good as new. Home delivery. You don't get better customer service than this. Oh, come on, you cranky, old man! I know you're in there." The blacksmith yelled. When no one answered the door, Gobber decided to kick it open and when he did, he saw that Mildew's whole house had been cleared out. "What in the name of the gods of Valhalla?" Gobber asked himself in confusion.

In the Berk Dragon Training Academy, the remaining Dragoniters were getting ready to go out and look for their leaders when Stoick arrived on Thornado. Fengo and Namara flew in after them. "Has anyone seen Hiccup and Aniu?" Stoick asked. "Where are you lot off to?" Fengo asked. "Uh, just a training exercise." Astrid said, her voice higher than normal...a sign that she was lying. "We thought that while waiting for them to arrive, we might do some training." Nava lied.

"Uh, huh." Stoick said, not convinced. "A training exercise without Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless?" Fengo asked. "You lot never go training unless those three are with you." Namara pointed out. Focusing his gaze on Fishlegs, Stoick chose him as his next interrogation victim. "Fishlegs!" He called, standing right beside the Ingerman boy who tried to keep quiet and look innocent. But, he ended up snapping.

"We're going to the Isle of Night to look for Hiccup and Aniu! It's an island full of Night Furies, could be dangerous, maybe not. Wanna come?" He blurted out. The others groaned and Nava face palmed while Astrid smacked her forehead against Stormfly's wing. "If that is true, then we're coming with you." Fengo said. "Whether you like it or not." Namara added. "There you are, you three! Strangest thing at Mildew's place. It's completely cleared out, no sign of him anywhere." Gobber said, running into the arena.

"Mildew's moved out for good?" Namara asked hopefully. "At last! Thank you, God, Draco, Glaux and Lupus!"Fengo cried out joyfully, shooting a ball of fire into the air. Despite being happy at the fact he no longer had to put up with Mildew's constant complaining, Stoick couldn't help but feel suspicious of Mildew's sudden disappearance. "Gobber, get Sonica. You lot, come with us. We're going after them." He ordered.

* * *

Toothless snarled and thrashed his head around as two Outcasts muzzled him. Savage pushed Aniu onto the boat and kicked Hiccup onto it after her. Aniu had chains wrapped around her wings and both she and Hiccup were tied up. Then a familiar smelly, old man and his sheep walked onto the ship. "Mildew? What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked in shock. He knew Mildew hated the dragons and the Dragoniters but he didn't think he would go this far.

"Ah, look at you two. The two brightest kids on the island and yet, here you two are, trapped by a silly old man and his sheep." Mildew gloated. "You sided with the Outcasts. You just betrayed Berk! Then again, I shouldn't be completely surprised." Aniu shrieked, completely outraged. "How could you do this?" Hiccup asked, a bit calmer than Aniu but still shocked and angry.

"You two did it. You two believed our Bork notes. You two followed the map we drew. You two walked right into our trap. All for the love of a dragon. Hmm, maybe you'll think twice next time about where you place your loyalties. And Hiccup, you should have never became friends with this winged freak." Mildew gloated. "Don't you dare call Aniu a winged freak!" Hiccup yelled, surprising everyone around him with the sheer volume of his voice.

Alvin recovered from his shock and laughed. "There won't be a next time. Raise the sails! We're headed home to Outcast Island." He sneered. As the ship set sail. Aniu gently grabbed Hiccup's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Hiccup squeezed her hand back, wondering how they were going to get out of this.

* * *

On an island a far distance from Berk, a female Night Fury sighed as she stared at the stars. _"_ _What's wrong, my dearest Nightflier?"_ A male Night Fury asked, sitting down beside his mate and nuzzling her. _"_ _It's been around four years since we lost our son and I miss him so much. We don't even know if he's alive or not, Nightblaster."_ Nighflier sighed, nuzzling her mate back. _"_ _He'll come back to us one day, I'm sure of it."_ Nightblaster said. The two Night Furies went back into their cave to rest.

 **Only one more chapter to go before this story is finished, folks! Star Wars the Clone Wars has been getting more and more epic!**

 **This chapter was 15 pages long on Microsoft Office. Probably one of my longest chapters yet.**

 **Updated: 17. 02. 16**


	20. We Are Family Part 2

_"Italics: Dragon's speaking"_

 _*Italics: telepathical speaking*_

 _Italics: Thinking_

 **Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk**

 **Author's note: The dragon riders ride on their dragons while the guardians such as Aniu and Nava fly using their wings. All dragons with more than one head have a – between their names as each head has a name. For example: Barf-Belch, Lefa-Rila. This note is here just to avoid confusion.**

 **Right now the Dragoniters group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf-Belch, Aniu and Nava.**

 **Well, here comes the final chapter!**

 **Please read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: We Are Family Part 2**

It was night time on Outcast Island. In the underground tunnels, a Deadly Nadder rammed its head against its cell door and snarled when it couldn't get free. Alvin and Savage lead Hiccup and Aniu past the cell. Both teens were shackled and Aniu's wings were bound with chains. "Where is my dragon, Alvin? Where's Toothless?" Hiccup asked angrily. "If you so much as harm one scale on his head, I will more than angry." Aniu practically growled.

Knowing that the two teens were tied up and had no way of fighting back, Alvin chuckled. "You two will see him soon enough, don't you worry." He said. "You know, I have to admit, luring Toothless, Aniu and I to the Isle of Night, building a fake Night Fury...not bad." Hiccup remarked. "Not bad says the one-legged boy in manacles." Alvin sneered.

"But turning Mildew into an Outcast? Using him against us?" Aniu questioned. "Come on, Alvin. That's low—hanging fruit, even for you." Hiccup pointed out. Savage chuckled but Alvin shut him up with a firm swipe to the head. "No one thinks you're funny, boy." Savage hissed, adjusting his spiky helmet. "I did." Aniu pointed out, causing Alvin and Savage to both glare at her. "Keep moving." Alvin hissed. "All right, all right. Don't get your beard into a knot, mister Outcast chief." Aniu said, causing Hiccup to stifle a laugh behind his manacled hands. _Aniu and her attitude._ He thought fondly.

Alvin and Savage lead Hiccup and Aniu to a cage where a Whispering Death was trying to tunnel out but ropes tied around its neck pulled it back. Realizing that it couldn't escape, the Boulder Class dragon roared in anger. "You do know it's gonna keep doing that, right?" Aniu asked. "It is a Whispering Death." Hiccup said before Alvin shoved him and Aniu to the next cage where a young Scauldron was drinking some water from a trough.

 _"Please get me out here. I miss my Mum and Dad, my siblings as well."_ The young Tidal Class dragon begged before firing a blast of boiling hot water at an Outcast. "A Scauldron, impressive. You might want to cut back its water." Hiccup commented. "Write that down."Alvin told Savage quietly. "And it's a young one." Aniu added, frowning.

When they got the next cage, there was nothing inside it except for some chains and two guards. "It's escaped again." One told the other in frustration. "Actually, no. It's right behind you. Changewing." Hiccup said, noticing a faint outline on the wall. The Mystery Class dragon appeared and spat a glob of acid at the cell door.

"Wow, you guys really don't have a handle on these dragons, do you?" Aniu remarked. "That's why you two are here. Welcome to your new jobs, Hiccup and Aniu." Alvin said. "A job? Us? As inviting as that sounds, we'll pass." Hiccup said. "Hiccup, Aniu, Hiccup, Aniu, why do you two have to make things so difficult?" Alvin asked. "Really not the first time we've been asked that question." Aniu remarked.

Then the two friends were brought to another cage, which held..."Toothless!" Hiccup and Aniu exclaimed. The Night Fury had been completely chained up and was suspended by ropes hanging from the roof and muzzled. The Outcasts weren't willing to take any chances. When he heard their voices, Toothless woke up and began thrashing around in his chains.

"Hang in there, bud! We'll get you out of there." Hiccup assured his dragon. "Don't worry, we'll free you. Just stay strong." Aniu said soothingly. "He's not going anywhere. Neither are you two because you two will train these dragons for me." Alvin growled. "And if we don't?" Hiccup asked, narrowing his eyes. "Then, they're no good to me. None of them, especially your Night Fury." Alvin hissed, glaring at Hiccup.

"Okay, you have officially crossed the line!" Aniu lost her patience and lunged at Alvin but he sidestepped her and grabbed the guardian girl's ponytail. "Let her go!" Hiccup shouted while Toothless roared in rage. Alvin pulled Aniu's hair back so that she was looking into his dark eyes."You're lucky us Outcasts don't torture our prisoners unless we really have to." Alvin said darkly.

"Alvin, let go of her right now!" Hiccup screamed so loudly that everyone stared at him in shock. Alvin let go of Aniu and shoved her over to Hiccup's side. "Are you okay?" He asked her quietly in concern. "I'm fine. Just a bit shocked at how loud you screamed, that's all." Aniu assured him.

"Sir, there are three things in this world that can make the boy get angry. One: Harming the blonde Deadly Nadder rider. Two: Harming the Night Fury we currently have in our possession. And number three: Harming the guardian girl. For our safety, it's best not to do any of those things." Savage whispered in Alvin's ear. Alvin looked thoughtful before ordering Savage to take Hiccup and Aniu to their cell.

* * *

"Can I get you two anything? Food, a cosy blanket, yak milk?" Savage asked mockingly as he led Hiccup and Aniu to their cell and locked them in then he walked away laughing. "Hiccup, what's wrong?" Aniu asked, seeing the expression on her surrogate brother's face. "It's just that, whenever I see you in pain or getting hurt, I just lose control of myself. And if some clow-life ever tries to hurt you again, I'll make sure they will regret it until the second they die." Hiccup mumbled. "You would do that for me?" Aniu asked. "Ni, you're the sister I never had. You always stood by my side and helped me through everything. Of course I would do that for you. I'll help you in anything you need." Hiccup smiled at her. "Nava always did those things for me but I can add you to the list." Aniu smiled. "Nava and Aniu, sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G..." Hiccup started to sing with a smirk, not missing an opportunity to tease his surrogate sister and best friend.

"Oh, shut up, you." Aniu smiled, gently elbowing Hiccup in the side before she thought about something. "Hey, Hic. I have got a bunch of books back home. Maybe once we get out of here, we'll read them together. ***** The books are called Star Wars and they're really cool. Trust me, you will enjoy them." She said. "What are the books called?" Hiccup asked, happy to get his mind off their current situation.

"Um, let me think. Oh, yeah. The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and the Force Awakens." Aniu ticked them off on her fingers. "Sounds cool." Hiccup remarked and lay down for a nap, wondering what the books were about.

* * *

Meanwhile out in the open ocean, the band of Dragon Riders and guardians were flying to the Isle of Night to look for Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless. "The Isle of Night! Finally, the chance to see Night Furies in their natural habitat! I'm bursting at the seams!" Fishlegs exclaimed in excitement. "Don't wet yourself. I'm right behind you." Snotlout said. "Guys, please." Nava said, flying up to Hookfang and Meatlug.

"I wonder if Hiccup and Aniu have found more of Toothless's kin. If so, it could be really convincing them to come back to Berk." Namara said. "They're probably having fun with the Night Furies. That's one logical explanation as to why they haven't come back yet." Fengo said.

"Gobber, Namara, Fengo and I will check the north side. You kids take the south. If we find anything, you'll hear it from Thornado and Sonica." Stoick commanded. "All right, this place could be crawling with Night Furies. So, let's fly low until we get a sense of where Hiccup and Aniu might be and how many Night Furies there are." Astrid told her friends. "The Night Furies might think we're a threat and attack us so we better be careful." Nava said.

* * *

Back on Outcast Island, Hiccup and Aniu had managed to get free of their shackles and were now trying to unlock their cell door. "Hiccup, someone's coming." Aniu alerted, her sensitive ears picking up the sound of voices approaching.

"Alvin, I gave you what you wanted. We had a deal." Mildew complained. "I didn't like that deal. So I changed it." Alvin said dismissively. Savage saw Hiccup and Aniu watching them. "Oh, I believe you three know each other. Don't get too chummy. Mildew's hours are numbered. Much like you two and the Night Fury." He sneered at them, pushing Mildew into a cell. Alvin went inside it and took Fungus out of Mildew's arms.

"No! What are you doing with me Fungus?" Mildew wailed, his beloved sheep bleating miserably. "Preparing your final meal. It's lamb." Alvin sneered, leaving the cell. "Fungus! No!" Mildew screamed. "Berkians. Still as dumb as the day I left." Alvin scoffed, carrying a bleating Fungus away. "What have I done?" Mildew wailed. Hiccup and Aniu gave him pitying looks.

* * *

Once they arrived at the supposed Isle of Night, Astrid and her team immediately started searching. "What's that down there?" Nava asked, seeing something on a ledge and pointing down at it. "Night Fury. Let's check it out." Astrid said. Nava, Stormfly, Hookfang and Meatlug landed. _"Why isn't it moving?"_ Stormfly asked, cocking her head in confusion. _"It should've have noticed us."_ Hookfang said, staring at the motionless Night Fury. _"Or maybe this isn't a real Night Fury."_ Meatlug said.

"Hey, up there." Nava called, trying to get a reaction and wondering why it didn't give one. "Uh, guys. This isn't a..." Astrid started to say before Tuffnut's voice screamed "Night Fury!" and the fake Night Fury was blasted to bits. A piece of it was caught by Fishlegs. "But it's very realistic." He observed.

"Yeah, good thing we came along when we did." Tuffnut said as Barf-Belch landed. "What were you thinking? If that was Toothless, you could've killed him!" Astrid yelled at the twins in rage. "You guys never think before you act, do you?" Nava asked them angrily. "Yeah, well if my chicken had horns he'd be my yak." Tuffnut said.

"And if I was weak and girly, I'd be my brother." Ruffnut said. "Yeah." Tuffnut said then realized his sister had insulted him. "Wait. What?" The teens heard two roars, looked up and saw Thornado, Sonica, Fengo and Namara come in for a landing. "We saw the Zippleback fire from the sky. Did you find something?" Stoick asked, dismounting Thornado. "We did. A fake Night Fury." Astrid said. "There's no sign of any Night Furies on this island as far as we know." Nava said.

"Why would there be a fake Night Fury and no sign of any real ones on this island if this place the Isle of Night?" Namara asked, baffled. "Unless this island is not the Isle of Night." Fengo said in realization, getting worried about his daughter and where she and Hiccup could be. "Where is it?" Stoick asked, looking around for the fake Night Fury. "Uh, gone. Blown to pieces actually." Fishlegs said, glancing at the twins. Those two blew it up." Nava said.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut cleaned their Barf-Belch's horns, trying to look innocent and casual. "Well, what do we have here?" Gobber asked, taking the piece from Fishlegs's hand and examining it. "Smell this." He told Fishlegs who did so and gagged at the stench. Nava also took a sniff and gagged as well. "Ugh. That is nasty." He groaned, covering his nose.

"It is indeed." Gobber said. "Oh, I wanna smell. Put it near my face." Tuffnut said enthusiastically. "This false dragon was made from dragon skin then covered with ash from a charred Loki Tree." Gobber told them. "Loki Tree? Never heard of it." Snotlout said thoughtfully. "That's because it only grows in one place." Stoick said. "Outcast Island." Gobber said grimly. "Oh, no. Hiccup and Aniu are on Outcast Island." Fishlegs gasped in horror.

"Then this whole Isle of Night thing is nothing but a trap!" Fengo shouted angrily, burying his hands into his deep brown hair. "We have to go save Hiccup, Aniu and toothless! Who knows what could be happening to right now. We know that Alvin wants them to train dragons for the Outcasts." Namara gasped fearfully, pulling at her golden hair. Without another word, the search party left the island and headed for Outcast Island.

* * *

On Outcast Island, Hiccup and Aniu were trying to dig out of their prison. Hiccup used a rock while Aniu tried to use earth magic but was unsuccessful. She couldn't transform into her dragon, owl or wolf form because of the chains on her wings. Neither she nor Hiccup could get the chains off her wings without hurting her.

"Really, this is so hard to watch." Mildew muttered sarcastically, watching them work. "What now?" Hiccup asked, glancing at the old man, seriously annoyed. "Well, I thought Stoick had raised a smarter boy than this. As for Fengo and Namara, well, they could have done better." Mildew sneered, taking selfish pleasure in annoying the two.

"Say one more negative word about my parents and I will dig my way over to your cell and clobber you." Aniu hissed. "You two will never save your Night Fury by sitting in your cell, digging dirt. You need to go get him and soon." Mildew told the two teens. "And how would you suggest we do that?" Hiccup asked.

"By giving Alvin what he wants." Mildew said confidently. "Surrendering and accepting the role of Alvin's Dragon Trainers? Hiccup and I would rather fight to the death than betray our tribe unlike you, Mildew." Aniu said vehemently. Hiccup was about to agree with Aniu, but he had an idea. Gesturing for Aniu to come closer to him, Hiccup told her his plan. "Ni, I think Mildew's onto something. Maybe we can pretend to accept Alvin's offer. And when they let us out, we can escape." He whispered.

Aniu thought it over. "Risky but it might work. I'm in. But if something's not working or goes wrong, we change our plan, got it?" She whispered. Hiccup smiled and took out his dagger. "What are you doing?" Aniu asked curiously. "If the plan fails, I want you escape, find Toothless, go back to Berk, get Dad and the Dragoniters, come back here and rescue me while I hold them off." Hiccup said seriously.

"But what about you? I can't lose you. You're my surrogate brother and I love you, Hiccup." Aniu said. Hiccup smiled and brushed a strand of Aniu's golden-brown hair over her pointed ear. "I'll be fine. Just be as quick as you can, if it comes to that, all right?" He asked. "All right." Aniu asked and wrapped her arms around Hiccup in a loving hug. Hiccup hugged he back and hoped that nothing would go wrong.

* * *

In the tunnels, Alvin and Savage were checking the new updates for every dragon's living arrangements. The Whispering Death was roaring in frustration as it tried to dig through the metal covering the floor. "We reinforced the floor with cast iron." Savage told his chief. "And this one only gets enough water to keep it alive." He gestured to the young Scauldron which was drinking water from the trough. It tried to shoot water at them but only steam came out. It's scales were starting to turn gray as they dried.

"Boy and girl have proven useful already." Alvin grinned. "Oh, you will quite a sight riding into Berk on the Night Fury." Savage laughed in excitement. "I would, wouldn't I? I will have to change my name. What's worse than the Treacherous?" Alvin mused, than stopped by Toothless's cage. "What's wrong with the Night Fury?"

"He won't eat or drink. He hasn't moved in hours." A guard told him. "Well, keep him alive. If he dies, then we lose our leverage with the boy and guardian girl." Alvin growled.

* * *

In their cell, Hiccup and Aniu decided to put their plan into action. "Guard! Guard, I can't take it! Please! I'll tell Alvin whatever he wants to know!" Hiccup began screaming. "Please just get us out of here! I can't bear it in this cell anymore. I beg you!" Aniu yelled. Believing the two had snapped, the guard approached the cell and unlocked it, unaware that Hiccup had taken his prosthetic foot off and was preparing to use it as a weapon while Aniu readied her fist.

Once their cell door was opened, Hiccup and Aniu lashed out but failed to knock the guy out. The Outcast backed into Mildew's cell door and glared at them. "That worked a little better in my mind." Hiccup gulped. "I don't think I hit him well enough." Aniu gulped.

Luckily for them, Mildew grabbed the guy with his staff and slammed his head into the bars, knocking the Outcast guard out. The man's key slid over to Hiccup who grabbed it. "Wow. Thanks." He said in surprise. Hiccup tried to unlock the chains binding Aniu's wings but the key wouldn't fit into the slot. "Just forget about it for now. We'll deal with it later." Aniu said.

The two teens made a break for it but Mildew called out for them. "Wait! Take me with you." He begged. "You're kidding us right?" Hiccup asked. "No! I know how to get around this island. I can help you, please. Let me make it up to you." Mildew continued. With a sigh, Hiccup unlocked the door to Mildew's cell. "Don't make us regret this, Mildew." He warned. "If you do, I'll make you regret it." Aniu warned him. Mildew nodded and followed the two teens out of the prison.

* * *

In Toothless's cell, two guards were trying to feed the motionless Night Fury. "Try a cod." One suggested. The other one nudged Toothless's face with the fish, hoping to get a reaction. "Is it breathing?" The guy asked. "What? The fish?" The other one asked stupidly. "No, you simpleton. The dragon. Never mind. Help me with the muzzle. We have to get it to eat. If it dies, we die." The second guy said and removed the muzzle with the aid of the other guy.

That was what Toothless had been waiting for. With a snarl, he opened his eyes and shot a plasma blast at the two Outcasts, knocking them back. Toothless bit through the leather straps and ropes holding him and got free. He walked between the two men to get outside and whacked them with his tail on his way out.

* * *

Unaware that Toothless had escaped, Hiccup, Aniu and Mildew left the prison block. "Okay, what's the quickest way to get to Toothless?" Hiccup asked once they were a safe distance away from the dungeons. "Through that lava field." Mildew said. "Let's go." Hiccup said to Aniu and they started to run but Mildew blocked them with his staff.

"Wait! You two do realize there are wild dragons down there?" He asked. "Yep." Hiccup and Aniu said and went on ahead, ignoring Mildew's complaints. "There's a lot of wild dragons, all right. And we have a cranky, old loudmouth who loves to complain with us." Aniu murmured. "Who are you calling a cranky, old loudmouth who loves to complain?" Mildew asked her angrily. "You. And I hate the fact you used to call Nava, my parents and I winged freaks." Aniu hissed, a dangerous edge to her voice.

In the lava field, a Deadly Nadder snatched a large bone from a Monstrous Nightmare and two Gronckles growled at each other. "Well, come on then, let's go." Hiccup said, beginning to walk into the field with Aniu. "Uh, let's not." Mildew said reluctantly. "We know what we're doing, Mildew. Just stay behind us." Hiccup said.

"Oh, perfect. A 90 pound boy and a 85 pound girl as my shields. I'm not going..." Mildew complained before slipping down an incline. "Perfect." He muttered. "Hey, if you want to see your sheep again, it will be best if you just shut up and follow us." Aniu muttered as she and Aniu went on ahead.

* * *

Toothless was busy searching the barren, rocky landscape looking for Hiccup and Aniu and doing his best to avoid getting captured again by the Outcasts. Then two Outcasts ran up, both wielding crossbows. "There's the Night Fury!" One of them yelled. Toothless spun around, saw two more Outcasts run up, blasted them with a plasma blast, did the same to the other two and continued on with his searching. _Hopefully, no more of those guys will show up._ He thought.

* * *

Back at the lava field, Hiccup and Aniu walked calmly past the many wild dragons who were watching them closely. Instead of being calm, Mildew was whimpering in fear. A brown and blue Deadly Nadder blocked their way and snarled, flaring its wings. Mildew tried to hit it with his staff but Hiccup and Aniu stopped him.

"No, Mildew. The last thing you want to do is threaten him." Hiccup said, grabbing the old man's staff and throwing it aside. "If a wild dragon sees a weapon, they'll be very cautious." Aniu said. "Me? Threaten him?" Mildew spluttered. "We have to show him he can trust us." Hiccup said, approaching the Sharp Class dragon.

"It's okay, buddy. We're not here to hurt you." He murmured, carefully laying a hand on the Nadder's leg. "Don't be afraid, big guy. We're friends. Aren't you a handsome fella?" Aniu said softly, laying a hand on the Nadder's other leg. The dragon calmed down and chirped. "Very impressive." Mildew commented, catching the Nadder's attention.

The dragon went over to Mildew, making the old man tremble and whimper in fear. "He's just getting to know you. They can sense fear so be relaxed." Hiccup said. "This is relaxed." Mildew muttered, standing as still as a statue. "That doesn't look like relaxed to me." Aniu chuckled. "See? He wants to be friends. Isn't that nice?" Hiccup said as the Nadder nuzzled Mildew. "I got plenty of friends." Mildew whimpered. "Really? I thought Fungus was the only friend you had." Aniu said.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "We're going to need a way to get past all those guards at the dragon pit. I think we just found it." He said, stroking the Nadder's chin. "What?" Mildew asked before the Nadder licked him, causing the old man to grimace in disgust.

* * *

Up in the sky, Stoick, Thornado, Gobber, Sonica, Fengo and Namara led the way to Outcast Island. None of them had any intention of fighting any Outcasts that night. All they wanted was to find Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless and bring them home safe and sound. "What's the plan?" Astrid and Nava asked.

"Alvin knows we'll be coming in from the sky. We have to find another way onto Outcast Island." Stoick said. "Stoick." Gobber alerted him to the single ship sailing through the water. "That ship looks familiar." Fengo remarked. "Is that..." Stoick asked. "I think it is." Gobber said. "It's Johann!" Namara exclaimed. "I think we just found our way onto Outcast Island." Nava said.

Trader Johann was very surprised to see his Berkians flying around these parts so late at night, but when he heard of Hiccup and Aniu's capture, he was ready to help.

* * *

In the tunnels underneath Outcast Island, Toothless searched for his rider and guardian friend. He noticed some very familiar footprints in the ground along with some not so familiar footprints. _"Uh, Mildew. That pain in the neck and tail. Those other footprints are from Hiccup and Aniu. They were here."_ The Night Fury said to himself.

The Outcast guard who Mildew had knocked out woke up, realized that Toothless was right behind him and scrambled into the nearest open cell, closing the door. "A Night Fury. With my own eyes." He whimpered, closing his eyes and awaiting the deadly blast. But Toothless just roared at him, snorted and walked away to continue his search. The Outcast guard was left in the cell, unable to believe he was still alive.

* * *

Outcasts gathered at the docks, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Trader Johann's ship. When the ship was docked, Outcasts scrambled on board, pushing and shoving each other aside in their haste to get their hands on some of the items. "Ah, Outcast Island! My favourite of all the islands I travel to. That's right. Take a look around. I have weapons of every kind." Johann beamed, putting up a good act before deciding to spring the surprise at them.

He snuck over to his ship's hatch."And I have a little something special for my friend Alvin." Johann said and pulled it open, allowing Stoick, Gobber, Fengo, Namara, Astrid, Nava, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut to charge out and start beating up the completely caught off guard Outcasts.

Stoick and Gobber threw punches and kicks, Fengo and Namara used elemental magic and batted Outcasts aside with their wings, Astrid used a wooden pole to fight off some other Outcasts, Snotlout knocked Outcasts down with an anchor, Ruffnut and Tuffnut dropped down onto a couple of Outcasts and knocked them unconscious. "Whoa, way better than just punching them." Tuffnut remarked.

Fishlegs let out a battle cry as he flipped an Outcast overboard. "Whoa, that felt really good. Is that wrong?" He asked. Astrid and Ruffnut gave him amused looks.

Nava found himself surrounded by a few Outcasts, grabbed something, long, slim and wooden from a nearby table and used it to knock out his opponents. Once that was done, he took a look at the object and saw that it was a staff with a sharp point on one end. It was as long as him and carved out of strong wood.

He turned his attention back to the others and saw Stoick grab the remaining Outcast by his beard. "Now, where's my boy, his dragon and his guardian friend?" Stoick hissed in the man's face. Fengo and Namara stood on both sides of Stoick, glaring daggers at the Outcast who ended up telling them what they wanted to know.

Before the Berkians left the ship, Nava went over to Johann. "Um, Johann. Do you mind if I buy this?" He asked, holding out the staff. "Not at all, lad. Do you have any means of purchase?" Johann asked. "Well, no. But I can give you these." Nava said and plucked five feathers from his wing, each feather was a different colour. Johann examined the black, gray, blonde, silver and white feathers and nodded. "I hope that staff works well for you." He said. "Thanks, Johann." Nava said and rejoined the others.

* * *

Back at the lave field, Hiccup and Aniu gave Mildew basic Dragon Training tips. "Remember, Dragon Training begins and ends with trust. Both of yours." Hiccup said. "That means that you must trust the dragon and the dragon must trust you." Aniu added. Hiccup gently took Mildew's hand and guided it to the Nadder's snout. The Sharp Class dragon sniffed the hand and pressed his snout into it.

"That's it. There you go." Aniu said. "Now, climb on." Hiccup said. "Huh?" Mildew asked. Hiccup and Aniu climbed onto the Nadder's back. With some hesitation and difficulty, Mildew climbed on after them behind Aniu. "Wow, Mildew on a dragon. This is going to take some getting used to." Hiccup remarked. "No kidding." Aniu agreed.

Then the Nadder started shifting its weight, trying to get used to the feeling of people on his back. "Why's it doing that? What's happening?" Mildew started panicking, thinking the dragon was about to throw him off. "It's okay, it's okay." Aniu said. "He's just never had people on him before." Hiccup said. _"No, I haven't. This is a very foreign feeling for me."_ The Nadder said.

Then to Mildew's disgust, Hiccup and Aniu spat on their hands and rubbed them on the Nadder's scales. "The dragon's hide is dry. The moisture from your hands will sooth him." Hiccup said. "See, he likes it." Aniu said as the dragon chirped. Mildew quickly spat on his hand and rubbed it on the Nadder's brown and blue scales.

At Aniu's signal, the Nadder flapped his wings and flew up into the sky. Mildew let out a yelp and clung to Aniu, terrified. "I'm fine." The old man squeaked out when Hiccup and Aniu threw him looks. Unknown to them, Toothless was nearby and just barely missed them. He roared, hoping Hiccup and Aniu could hera him.

Up in the air, Hiccup and Aniu scouted the area. "That's where they have Toothless." Hiccup said, pointing at the dragon pit. They went inside and landed. But when they checked the cage in which Toothless had been chained up, the Night Fury was gone. "Toothless is not here." Aniu said. "Bah! Alvin must have moved him." Mildew muttered.

Then the cages holding the Changewing, Scauldron and Whispering Death opened. Mildew hid behind Hiccup and Aniu while the Nadder snarled and got into a protective position. "Let's see what you two can do with some real wild dragons, Hiccup and Aniu." Alvin sneered, standing on a ledge high above them.

Mildew whimpered and trembled in fear while Hiccup and Aniu stayed completely calm. "Mildew, whatever happens in the next minute, do exactly what Aniu and I tell you." Hiccup said. "Why?" Mildew asked before dodging a glob of acid from the Changewing. "I'm all ears."

Hiccup, Aniu and Mildew climbed back onto the Nadder's back and barely avoided attacks from the dragons while Alvin laughed. The Whispering death roared and tunnelled underground. "Well, at least that one is gone." Mildew said, relieved. "Not for long, actually. Changewings shoot acid and can blend in with their surroundings." Aniu said. "Scauldrons fire boiling hot water." Hiccup said. "And Whispering Deaths hunt from underground." Both teens yelled.

The Nadder took off running through the tunnel and the Changewing and Scauldron gave chase. When the Whispering Death surfaced, the Nadder flew up and out of the dragon pit tunnels. The three wild dragons ended up colliding with each other in a tangled mess of wings and tails. Alvin growled and knocked a torch of the wall in his anger.

Flying through the tunnels, the Nadder and its riders flew back outside into the early morning sunshine. They landed on a ledge to regain their breath. "You two know your dragons, I'll give you that." Mildew puffed out. "Thanks. I guess." Aniu said. "Hiccup! Aniu! Oh, thank Thor you two are alright." A familiar voice yelled.

Stoick and Gobber jumped off Thornado and Sonica before their dragons had landed. The other Berkians landed as well. Aniu dismounted the Nadder and her parents immediately swept her up into a hug. When they let her go, Nava quickly hugged her. "You okay?" He asked anxiously. "I'm fine." Aniu said, resting a hand on her boyfriend's cheek. Nava nuzzled his face into her hand and let go but not before he formed a spike of ice and used it to pick the lock of the chains on Aniu's wings. The chains fell to the ground and Aniu flexed her wings and smiled at her boyfriend. Nava smiled back.

"We are. But Toothless is in trouble." Hiccup said, getting off the Nadder's back. "And Mildew is on the back of your dragon." Tuffnut said. "We know." Hiccup and Aniu said together. "Weird." Tuffnut said.

Mildew muttered a complaint before Gobber grabbed him, pulled the old man off the Nadder's back and raised his hammer hand. "I should run you through right now!" The blacksmith yelled, furious at Mildew's betrayal. Luckily, Hiccup and Aniu stepped in before Mildew could get beaten. "No! No! Gobber, no!" Hiccup yelled. "He helped us escape." Aniu said. "Dad, Aniu and I owe Mildew our lives." Hiccup said.

"Get weirder." Tuffnut remarked. "I'll explain later. Right now, I have to get to Toothless." Hiccup said. "Or you could bring him to you." Astrid suggested. Hiccup smiled at his girlfriend and cupping his hands around his mouth, let out a Night Fury call. Toothless was sniffing around when he heard the call. He responded with one of his own calls and ran to the location of the source.

"He's coming." Aniu said. The dragon riders and mildew quickly got back onto their dragons and flew to where Toothless was followed y the guardians. "There he is." Hiccup said. Once they landed, Hiccup got off the Nadder and ran to his beloved Night Fury. "Toothless!" He yelled joyfully as Toothless tackled him to the ground and nuzzled him. "Are you okay, bud?"

 _"I'm okay, Hiccup."_ Toothless said even though his rider couldn't understand him. "Oh, I am so sorry, Toothless. This was all my fault." Hiccup said, giving his dragon a hug. Toothless was about to reply but then he spun around and snarled. "Hey, there, you two! You two weren't gonna leave before we finished our business, were you? That's what I would expect from Stoick's little runt and his guardian friend who is also a winged freak!" Alvin yelled down to them from his perch on a high ledge.

"Oh, boy." Gobber muttered. "He's trying to provoke you into attacking him!" Fengo yelled. "Don't listen to him!" Namara yelled. "Hiccup! Aniu!" Stoick yelled, trying to stop his son and Aniu from doing something rash. Hearing Alvin insult them, chain up Toothless like a beast for slaughter and everything else that Alvin had done to them and other people, it was safe to say that Hiccup and Aniu had had more than enough.

Aniu flared her wings and Hiccup mounted Toothless. Together, they flew up to the ledge Alvin was standing on. Aniu turned into her dragon form and she and Toothless prepared to fire plasma blasts at the Outcast chief who was egging them on. "Hiccup, Aniu, no! We got what we came for!" Stoick shouted after the two teens but they ignored him.

Alvin waited until Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu were close enough before giving the signal and swinging his axe down." Now!" He yelled. Outcasts hidden amongst the rocks threw bolas at the three. Hiccup and Toothless struggled against the ropes binding them together while Aniu tried to bite and burn through her ropes.

Things were made worse by the Outcasts charging at them. "No!" Fengo and Namara screamed, seeing their beloved daughter and her friends in danger. "They're down!" Gobber yelled. "Dragons, everybody!" Astrid and Nava yelled, turning to their fellow Dragoniters only to see their dragons were not there.

"Um, we would love to, but as you can see..." Tuffnut said. "Trusting dragons. This is what it gets you." Mildew scoffed. "Wait, look!" Astrid exclaimed, pointing at the sky where their dragons were swooping in for the rescue. While their fellow dragons kept the Outcasts at bay, Stormfly and Hookfang flew down, grabbed Hiccup and Toothless and flew them to safety in front of Stoick and Gobber who cut their ropes.

Seeing their chance, Fengo and Namara turned into their dragon forms, flew over to Aniu, grabbed her, flew their daughter to safety and cut her ropes. "Thanks, Mum and Dad." Aniu said stretching her wings and tail. The Dragoniters regrouped. "What happened?" Hiccup asked. "The dragons saved you four on their own." Fishlegs said. "Looks like they took their training to a whole new level." Astrid said, grinning.

"We can catch up later. Right now, we need to get out of here." Stoick interrupted, seeing more incoming Outcasts. The riders quickly got onto their dragons with Mildew on the Nadder's back. The guardians flapped their wings and followed them up into the sky. Everyone heard Mildew screaming and saw the old man clinging onto the Nadder's tail for dear life.

"Mildew!" Hiccup and Aniu yelled. "Ah, for the love of Thor, Mildew. Get back up onto that dragon properly." Gobber snapped from Sonica's saddleless back. "Tell the boy and the guardian that I'm sorry." Mildew said and let go of the Nadder's tail. "Mildew!" Hiccup and Aniu screamed as the old man plummeted to the ground and landed in front of some Outcasts who quickly tied him up.

"Go, Hiccup and Aniu! You two have to leave me!" Mildew yelled up to the two, who were trying to rescue him. "He's right, you two. We can't help him now." Stoick said. Sadly, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless followed the others back home to Berk.

* * *

"Huh, well, well." Alvin said as Mildew was brought to him. At Alvin's signal, an Outcast untied Mildew and let him stand up. "Not bad, eh?" Mildew asked, rubbing his wrists. "Not bad at all. Now, tell me, Mildew. What did you learn from Stoick's boy and his guardian friend about training dragons?" Alvin asked. "Oh, I learned plenty, Alvin. You're going to be very pleased." Mildew said. Fungus trotted up to him with a bleat.

"Oh, there you are, Fungus. You played your part well." Mildew smiled, petting his sheep. "You both did, Mildew. Tomorrow is a new day for the Outcasts." Alvin grinned. His men started cheering.

* * *

Back on Berk in the Haddock house, Hiccup and Aniu sadly burned the map to the false Isle of Night. "We're sorry this map wasn't the real thing, bud." Hiccup said to his dragon. "But hey, there's nothing wrong with being one of a kind, right?" Aniu asked optimistically. "And who knows? Maybe, someday we will find more Night Furies." Hiccup said optimistically. Then the door opened and Astrid and Nava stepped through. "Would you come on already?" Nava asked. Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless stared at him. "Bork Week. The Parade." Astrid reminded them.

Finally remembering, Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless grinned and walked outside. Half an hour later, the villagers cheered as the Bork Week Parade began.

 **"A family isn't just something you're born into."**

Hiccup and Aniu glanced back at their parents who smiled at them proudly.

 **"It's also the friends who stand with you."**

Smiling, Hiccup glanced at Astrid who was petting Stormfly, both of them exchanged a loving and proud look. They were followed by Arrow, Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet. Grinning, Aniu glanced at Nava who smiled at her lovingly and proudly. Fishlegs was happily feeding Meatlug pebbles and followed by Clobbertail, Stonecruncher and Sweetiepie.

 **"The ones who fight by your side."**

Hookfang flew by with Snotlout on his neck and heated his horns up for the fun of it. Snotlout yelped and began blowing on his hands. Firesnow, Ignitis and Infernia were behind them. On Barf-Belch, Ruffnut and Tuffnut shared a fist bump and a head butt. Lefa-Rila and Boomer-Banger flew behind them. Boomer-Banger head-butted each other but leaned away, feeling pain in his heads. Lefa-Rila laughed at her son's antics.

 **"And not only that, a family is the people who will risk everything for you and the ones who trust you and who you trust. A true family is made up of people who at least care about each other."**

Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu smiled at their friends and flew up into the air.

 **"You know you'll be there for them and they'll be there for you. Always, no matter what happens."**

Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu smiled at each other, silently promising to always be there for each other, protect each other, care about each other, help each other and be the very best of friends for as long as possible. In the battles and challenges they'll each face in the future, they'll always be friends for life.

* * *

On Outcast Island in the Dragon Arena, Alvin held his hand out to a Whispering who sniffed and pressed its snout into his palm. Knowing that he had successfully trained a dragon, Alvin let out a sinister laugh. His men followed suit with Mildew choking and coughing on his laugh.

* * *

"You know, Icicle, I think we should go home before Mum and Ashblaze get mad at us." A teenage girl said to her dragon on a ledge. _"I think we should, Camicazi. My mother and father will be waiting for us along with your mother and her dragon."_ The white and blue dragoness said. "Well, let's go, Icicle." Camicazi grinned, happy she had the ability to understand her dragon ever since she and Icicle had bonded to each other. Icicle waited until Camicazi had climbed onto her back then she flew up into the sky.

 **It's safe to say that I have become a Star Wars fan. I have already watched Episodes 1, 2, 3 of the Star Wars franchise and they are awesome. The parts where Anaking becomes Darth Vader, Oh, my God.**

 **I can't believe this story is finished. I have been working on it for like seven months. And tomorrow is my 15** **th** **birthday. Dragons and Guardians: Defenders of Berk is going to more epic and awesome than this story but I must write Nava's Parents Come to Berk first. Whoo!**

 **This chapter was thirteen pages long on Microsoft Office.**

 **Updated: 26.02.2016**


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